Animalia
by LampshadeThis
Summary: Born as the ultimate living being, one sharing the most admirable traits of all species, have given him imminence invulnerability to biological hazards. Meruem survives the toxins of the WMD known as the Miniature Rose. Can Meruem cope with the loss of his Royal Guards, and the girl he held dear, or will he succumb to insanity? Edit:12/August/2016.
1. Chapter 1

Prolog:

Edit: August 12th 2016: After reading the manga after I stopped watching the anime, there was a very crucial panel at the end of chapter 339. This means that Komugi and Meruem were left there in that room (After like a week, which is really messed up that no one bothered to give them a proper burial, seriously).

Because of this, I'll change the four days post the government collapse to twelve instead. Meruem will still be buried, except this time he was buried a week after the conclusion of the Chimera ant arc. How did he survive being left still for twelve days? Not showing it yet, but it will be astonishing. Also, that one panel helped me finalize how the story will end. (And the manga is still in hiatus mode, hopefully the Black Whale will make it to the Dark Continent by 2020).

* * *

AN: Huh, can't believe I decided to write an alternate ending to the Chimera Ant Arc, or more specifically, Meruem's fate. To be frank, I found the ending to be quite abrupt, there was so much wasted potential, but then I thought to myself: What if I can keep the ending as it is but for one major factor.

Meruem ends up barely surviving the Miniature Rose's toxin, while the rest of the Royal Guards- and sadly- Komugi remain helpless to the toxin's fatal symptoms, thereby leaving Meruem as the sole survivor.

The reasons behind Meruem's survival won't be explained by stupid excuses like "Nen!"/"Magic!", I can assure you that. In a way, I'm going to try my best to explain the Miniature Rose bomb's toxin; it's effects; and possible antidote to said toxin. Meruem's genetic makeup is very crucial in this fanfic. I'm no gynecologist, nor a zoologist, but I'll do everything I can to make the story's events realistic.

Speaking of realism. Meruem's psychological state post the events of episode 135. I won't make him OOC, yet he won't exactly be in character. He just have lost everything and everyone he held dear, you can't expect him to just accept that fact- if he ever will- that he is _all alone now with nothing to accomplish._

Lastly: The main characters will not make any formal appearance in this fanfic, and even if they did, it will merely be either a cameo appearance, or mentions of the characters.

I believe this AN has gone on long enough. I don't intend to drop hints about the story's plot, so, if you like sci-fi mixed with psychological issues, then this story is for your liking.

* * *

 _Cold... Cold... The surroundings are cold, encasing... He felt tired, sore, and he was fading..._

 _Colder... The soft, yet damp surroundings were cold... Though one of the enclosed walls was seemingly different... Somehow... He didn't know... He didn't have the capacity to know... He was fading..._

 _Numb... It felt as if the three cold walls were trying to swallow him... And yet there was that sole presence... Is it to his right? To his left?... He can't register his surroundings well... Something... Something was... Was... Was?... He can't tell... He was fading again..._

 _A dull, faint sensation flooded him... He felt more. More... More?... Pain?... He feels a dull burning sensation...That's the pain... Something else felt off... A part of him was... Intertwined with something solid... And bloated... A hand?... And his own hand?... He can't tell, for he is hit with a wave of blinding pain... He was fading... Albeit, slowly... There was something... Not... Right... Where... Where..._

 _The pain is masked by a new sensation... A foul one... He was more responsive to it. He can tell, that this... Acerbic... Smell?.. Smell... The smell. The source of it, it came from the other presence... Another.. Person?... Most likely, his hand feels stuck to the other person's own... Somewhat... Sticky... Hand. The other person's presence was no longer desirable?... He shouldn't be here?... Where... Is... He?... Why is he here?... He is surrounded by damp, soft walls, with another person... Laying closely at his side?... Why is this person... Rigid? Their hand sticky and bloated?... Should he get out? Why is he surrounded by walls?... What are those walls?... Damp walls... Rigid person... He was fading once more... He tries to struggle... But that exhausts him... More..._

 _He can twitch now, his toes, fingers... His tail brushes against the softness of the walls...Walls?... Earth... Moist earth...Is he? Underground?... Why is the other person so unresponsive?... His movements aren't igniting anything from the other... cold... damp... ever still person... Will this person ever response... This person won't respond to him... This person is dead... The stench of their now decomposing body has left him more chemically responsive... Should he thank that person?... That person is dead... He can't thank them.. He feels weak, but he is awake enough to avoid slipping back into unconsciousness again... He is buried underground with another person who's hand is intertwined with his own, so that must mean this is his grave?... He isn't dead... The other person is dead and is undergoing the first stages of decomposition.. He has been here for at least three days then, he should get out..._

 _He starts by trying to stretch is limbs- while enduring the sharp, jabbing pain... Gradually regaining usage of his fine motor skills in spite of the pain. His minds wanders to the other person one final time... For a brief moment, he desires to remain with the dead body... He doesn't know why such a thought even crossed his mind, if he remains here, he will too die.. He is hungry, thirsty, and weak... Why would he want to die... Odd... And the sensation still lingers... Is he longing for this person's presence? Does he know them?... Will he... Miss them?... He doesn't know, his head feels fuzzy, and his mind is clouded._

 _He should escape from his tomb now, before he is too weak to be able to make a successful attempt. Survival instincts already kicking in, he pries his hand free from the other's... He will never hold their hand again, won't he?... As he begins digging his way out, he forces himself to stop thinking of the dead person. If he fails this attempt at escaping, he will never get another chance... That doesn't answer the current emotions he's experiencing... He will think about it later, once he's out and replenished._

 _He is gasping for air, he barely managed to lift himself from the dirt... He is wheezing... Confused... He tries to stand up.. He stumbles, falling onto his knees. He tries to rest the untainted palm on the ground... He vomits...The palm is now balled up into a fist as he undergoes a coughing fit that scratches his dry throat... Bringing him another source of pain... He is thirsty.. Very thirsty... He narrowly glances his bloodshot eyes towards the grave site... There lies a crudely made crucifix, he can hardly see another three crucifixes placed only a little further from his own... Are there three more people buried here?_

 _Somehow, he knows, that the people within those graves... Are people... He once knew... They are all dead now... How did they all die?... He closes his eyes and dips his head for a few seconds in mourning..._

 _He should get going now. Maybe he will remember what happened after he regains some of his strength._

* * *

I'm not sure if the prologue is good, this is the first time I've written a fanfic with the intention to publish, and English isn't my native language meaning that there will be tons of grammatical errors in the first few chapters, sorry. ((I got an English grammar book, so I will learn as I progress with the story))

The broken writing here was intentional, people waking up from even a brief state of comatose don't retain their full consciousness right away, they regain it gradually, and they also suffer from Post-Traumatic-Amnesia.

So, Was it good? Was it bad? I'd appreciate your opinions! ((I have a feeling it sucks))

I'll write the first chapter this week, maybe I'll make it a weekly thing, since chapters will be 3000+ words long.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter: 1

Edit: August 12th 2016: Changes in story and time period of the setting to be more in line with the manga (chapter 339).

AN: First chapter... Writing is far more challenging than drawing, but that makes it more fun!

From this chapter till the next several ones, Meruem will remain in a state of minimal to no consciousness, and as a result, the main point of view will be from other characters. I'm not too comfortable with writing OCs. Each OC plays a role in the story's progression, however they will either be recurring, or supporting characters. Even if they take the role as the main characters themselves for the first several chapters, it's mainly because of Meruem's current state.

Secondly, it took me a while to write this chapter, because I had to do **a lot** of research for it. And am I **glad** that the Chimera Ants have blue blood instead of purple or green, that would have drastically complicated the premise of the story altogether.

* * *

Blood test. This would be the seventh person to make a request for a blood test today. The person in question is a middle aged man who is most likely a farmer. Again. It's not that he is bothered by the sharp rise of requests starting merely three days after the now former government was overthrown, but it's the reasoning behind those visits that did.

"Have you eaten anything during the past twelve hours?". "Well I-"

"Please come back tomorrow at ten a.m. Don't eat anything twelve hours prior the appointment, nor consume any alcoholic beverage for twenty four hours", Came the deadpan reply from Shiori, the assigned Nurse Practitioner at this rural clinic.

Shiori had the barest hints of anger in her voice, he knew why, this farmer is here for the same reason as the others that came here before him for a over a week now.

"... If I drank sake does that mean I can't take a blood test tomorrow?"

"No. You'll have to come back on Wednesday" Shiori replied, the edge in her voice growing sharper. Had I not been equally annoyed by this new ridiculous trend, I would have found her current expression to be quite humorous.

"But what if my blood is already turning blue!?".There it goes.

"Iron doesn't turn just suddenly turn to copper! And Haemoglobin isn't Haemocyanin! Your blood won't turn blue, just get out!" Shiori snapped at the farmer, all while pointing her ring finger towards the entrance door. This farmer is here based on the rumors that has spread two days after the former government was overthrown. I still can't wrap my mind around this rumor, and it's not like the official story that has lead the birth of this rumor wasn't baffling in on itself. The clinics were flooded as soon as the now internationally controlled temporary government has issued out a three statements:

One, the World Health Committee has promised to send in the essential medical supplies by the end of the week, with full medical supplies by the end of the month; Two, running water and electricity will be provided all time without any more periodical power outages starting with public service facilities; Three, primary health care services are to be provided free of charge for all civilians.

I simply cannot even consider complaining, not with ghost of the last local endemic lingering around. An outbreak of Pneumonia had struck the rural districts, effectively killing over eleven thousand in this district alone. Seven thousand of them were children under the age of fifteen, the remaining four thousand mostly consisted of the elderly. There was nothing that I, or any other physician in these districts could of have done, the clinics lacked the necessary vaccines. or anything to hinder the symptoms at the least, and until international aid arrived, the death toll had already taken its place.

But now? With the horror of The Purge still fresh... If I should be glad about something in particular, it'll be the fact that this district was least affected by The Purge.. Four hundred and seventy eight thousand, and five hundred and forty nine civilians have met their end.

" So my blood isn't going to turn blue?"

"No, it won't!" Shiori explained in irritation to the farmer who paused in stupor "Should I tell the others about this if our blood can't turn blue?" This is probably the first person in the past nine days to display some measurable levels of intellect.

"Yes, please do so! You'll be doing us a favor" Shiori pleaded the farmer.

"Uh, thank you. Bye!?" The farmer uttered while waving his hand. He's heading out, the sound of the diesel generator rumbles louder with entrance door open. It's such an irritating sound, he hopes that the power outages will stop permanently as promised. The door closes leaving the clinic a little more quiet- There goes Yuta from across the room, with his barely contained chuckle. That medical student finds enjoyment in everything, even during circumstances which doing would seem inappropriate.

""Iron doesn't turn just suddenly turn to copper? Haemoglobin isn't Haemocyanin!?Your blood won't turn blue, just get out!?" he jokingly parroted Shiori's words in a mock attempt to imitate her voice pitch "Hah! Why don't we hang a post outside that says that! It'll come in handy" I honestly can't tell if he's being serious or not. Yuta has been only serving in this clinic for two summers with this summer being the third, this is part of his degree requirements to meet the necessary clinical hours served, but due to the latest issue by the new temporary government, Students are now required to work as part of the health staff while they study, this all due to the catastrophic shortage in trained health care faculty members.

Yuta has to work full time this summer, at least the nationwide university and college curriculum for medical fields is being studied for a reformation plan by the World Health Committee, so for now, he doesn't have to worry about upcoming exams or courses. Not that Yuta is very enthusiastic about living in a village, maybe that's what's been causing him to be a over anxious during the past week. He's good at hiding his anxiety though.

I have mixed feelings about this issue. On one hand the patient per staff ratio is far more tolerable now, however, this raises a problem concerning under qualified and sometimes non qualified staff members.

"Umm.." Speaking of non qualified. There goes that unusually quiet new girl. She's speaking a little today to Yuta and Shiori, yesterday she was silent, to the point of being eerie.

"What is it Airi?" Yuta patiently replied to Airi, the eighteen almost nineteen year old who got appointed yesterday, and started working today _._ She isn't even attending college yet, she is merely enrolled as a freshman nursing student, she shouldn't even be here.

"What does this label mean?" Yuta headed over Airi who was pointing her right hand to the jar held in her left. "This means that the chemical is corrosive" Airi hurriedly put the jar back on the shelf and took a two quick steps back earning a chuckle from Yuta.

"Relax, touching the jar won't harm you!" he means the nearly empty jar. "Say Airi! Do you know of any corrosive chemicals" Yuta asked Airi who in turn was trying her hardest to think of one valid answer. "I'll give you a hint, think silver". "Silver... Silver. Oh! Silver Nitrite!" Airi answered.

"Good job Airi!". Yuta gave her a pat on the head, the girl gave him a beaming smile in return. "Airi you can read my Medical Laboratory handbook if you want tomorrow morning, it'll help you familiarize with clinical settings".

Despite her non qualifications, or the fact that she's likely to be treated as a made by others. Heh, I'm smiling in spite of that fact. "Really? Thank you Yuta sir!". Because some people with potential like Yuta. "Sir? I'm still in pre-med, I still have a while to go" Have a gift. "I just want to say welcome to our own little team". "I'll do my best, I promise!" and that gift is to help others discover their own potential. Perhaps with a some training, Airi can become a functional member of this clinic.

"People are so damn gullible sometimes, one nonsensical rumor is all it takes for them to go crazy. They listen to baloney but they won't even tune their ears to actualities" That statement came from Momoka, the longest serving, and the oldest member age wise of this now five member clinic.

"Um, excuse me, but what is this rumor everyone here is talking about?" Heh, Airi is going to be baffled.

"... You haven't heard of it" Shiori was somewhat surprised by Airi being misinformed in spite of the fact that Airi comes from Shinyoju, the third most populated village in the district, and one that's not far off from the local college to add. At least, she didn't have to know about it. Until now.

"The rumor centers mostly around Burondo, you've heard about him right?"

Burondo. The dubbed nickname for the man who was identified as the first victim of the nuclear fallout that occurred about thirty kilometers away from the former presidential palace in a weapon testing site. This raises the question over how Burondo managed to make it to the mass gathering of civilians alive before dying there and infecting and killing over forty six thousand civilians with that contagious lectin... The damnable protein is just as lethal as Ricin, except it's symptoms develop much faster. Why was Burondo even there during the detonation of the bomb is just as puzzling.

"Burondo? You mean the blonde Caucasian that happened to be the first victim of Rozu bomb toxin incident?" Airi knows her facts it seems, well, it was all over the news anyways. Oddly enough, the only pictures of him were taken in what seems to be a morgue after the body had been taken to be examined by the Hunter's Association. No other pictures have been taken since, and the news merely reported that the victim's body has been delivered to his family, and that his name and location of origin remain a secret in respect to his family's grieving. I didn't believe their excuse at all, there was even something off about the pictures themselves.

"What does Burondo has to do with the rumors you're talking about?" Airi asked Shiori.

"Well Airi, do you remember the photographs that were taken?" Airi slowly nodded. "Burondo's forehead, and abdomen were covered in thick bandages. If you observe the photographs well enough, you'll find that in two symmetrical spots on his head the bandages seem to be somewhat sunk in". Airi blinked at this, and Shiori sighed.

"The first rumor goes as follows" Shiori began. " The two sinking spots are hollow spots caused by the removal of two appendages that formed on his head as a result of mutations caused by radiation". Well th- "That's just stupid" Airi said what my own train of thoughts was heading at. Shiori nodded in understanding "I know it's dumb, but that doesn't stop feeble minded people from believing it".

"What are the other rumors?". "The other two? One is the least accepted, and the other one" Shiori anticipated Airi's reply. "The blue blood paranoia?". "Exactly that".

"That second rumor though! some people think that Burondo was an angel!" This time it was Momoka who spoke, and Airi just gave her a blank stare "An angel?", she asked. "You heard me right, those folks were too drugged with the sleep inducing gas that they started to have hallucinations shortly after being exposed to it, that's why this rumor has been mostly discarded".

"Some even say that the angel's wings were luminescent color fest" I couldn't help but add, since we have to work here well past our overtime hours this month, and with the horror that was The Purge, we might as well humor ourselves.

"Angels that shine in vivid lights? Darn, I hope religious committees don't hear about that compound! Just think of what they'll use it for, the possibilities are endless!" I can hear Siori snort at Yuta's comment. I have to admit that his comment was actually pretty funny though. "The headlines would be 'Angels Confirmed!'".

"Until they discover it's a hoax. Not that that's going to change minds". Momoka, and Yuta both have a the tendency to make sarcastic remarks, although Momoka, has a dry sense of humor. Shiori can say something snarky from time to time, but that's usually when Yuta's around.

"Where did the idea of blue blood even come from?" That's a good question that Airi asked, and oh isn't the answer to this question fanatical. "The 'blue blood' rumor originated from a very estranging conspiracy theory" Airi turned her attention towards me as I began to talk. "A conspiracy theory?".

" Airi, do you know of the many recent reports of new species of Magical Beasts being identified?". "Uh huh". "Well, the reports say that they originated from NGL. Many are hostile, and only a few species were identified as tame". "Why didn't they show what the tame ones look like?" Airi questioned me. "They don't want them to be hunted down. They're currently being protected my by the Hunter's Association". I'm going off topic now.

" Some of the of the hostile ones were Arthropods. Some Arthropods have different respiratory pigments, a common one being the copper based Haemocyanin which gives blood a blue color, like Horseshoe Crabs for an instance". I began giving the proper explanation. "The conspiracy theory states that the two possible punctures of Burondo's forehead are where two sensory antennas used to be before being surgically removed by the HA prior the photo shoot". Airi seemed to still as I continued speaking. " The theory also goes on to state the so called angel rumor is actually Burondo's butterfly wings, and that he is a highly evolved subspecies of the Hypnosis Butterfly".

"H-hah!?" This girl is too naive, her face is literally paling. "This means the theory claims that Burondo is a Magical Beast appointed by the former government to lull the mass gathering into hypnosis. Whether or not this theory has any truth in it, or any logic, it's still a well constructed one". "And the blue blood?" Airi asked. "The 'blue blood' rumor is completely irrational, while there may be a possibility that Burondo might be a Magical Beast it's impossible for him to have Heamocyanin. Even if the conspiracy theory turns out to be true, that won't mean Burondo has a copper based respiratory pigment. His physiology appears to be that of a human, that is if he isn't just a normal human being in the first place".

"What kinds of Arthropods possess Haemocyanin?" Nice question Airi. "That would mostly be large Crustaceans, and of gastropod and cephalopod mollusks" I replied. "Are there any other Arthropods that also have it?".

"Well that would be some species of Hymeno-" I was suddenly interrupted by the familiar creaking sound of the entrance door being opened. The rumbling of the diesel generator grows louder. I turn around to see who's at the door. A woman carrying a little girl who looks around the age of five.

There comes an actual patient.

* * *

It's around two p.m now. At four thirty inspectors are scheduled to arrive for a survey of the clinic. The WHC and International Peacekeeping Operation have done a number since the fall of the former government four days ago. Something wasn't right though, how did they come so well prepared? Were they already informed of the ongoing unrest within the former Republic of East Gorteau?

... Were they aware of the ongoing purge of civilians. I'm thinking of it as if it is a matter of fact, anything is possible in this situation, especially when the nature of the government fallout as a whole is highly questionable. Hell, why would even a dictatorship would want to purge the majority of its population anyways so-

"I'm going out for a walk" Yuta snapped me out of my thoughts. He's going out on his routine walks within the forest. He was heading towards the entrance door while taking off his lab coat...

I don't know why. But I have a sudden morbid sensation.

"Yuta..." I called out his name, and he turned to face me from the hanger."Yes Doctor?"

"Just.. Be careful, and don't be late... Come back before four thirty" I don't know why I said that... "Yeah, sure" He replied naturally and headed out, closing the door behind him.

* * *

A/N: I feel like ending the first chapter here, I can't stretch this one longer than this. Hope the characters seemed believable.

I wanted to explore more into the life of the people of the Republic of East Gorteau. So I decided to make the representatives members of an improvised health care staff.

Meruem will make an appearance either at the end of the next chapter, or at the start of the third chapter.

And no, the purge has nothing to do with the movie "The Purge". This is merely a statement made by the public since they don't know about the selection, or the Chimera Ants for that matter.

And, oh yes! I've decided to make some concept art for the characters, my art isn't great, but I don't want to dwell on appearance description. You can find at this ULR:

/a/86Bjn (just add imgur . com before hand, this website destroys links it seems).


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter: 2

Edit: August 13th 2016 so the story can be more in line with the manga.

A/N: My apologies for taking so long to write this chapter, this chapter needed a lot of readings, and then I had to work out a way to properly analyze the planet the series takes place in. FYI: Giant arthropods and any haemocyanic dependent animals would need far more Oxygen concentrations in the biosphere than that of our planet at the current epoch we live in.

The atmosphere should be composed of 30% Oxygen as opposed to our 21%. If the Oxygen level was as low as ours, the Chimera Ant Queen could have never been able to grow to the height of two meters, in fact, anything bigger and more agile than a Coconut Crab would have suffocated due to having a poor Oxygen transporting medium.

At the start of every chapter, I'll try to explain more about the planet HxH takes place in, or how it should be. There are some details that will be changed, or cut out from the story altogether due to simply being impossible in real life, even in terms of (actual) Sci-Fi. So this Fanfic will be a minor AU.

* * *

I kept my gaze focused at the entrance door. I can't explain why I feel so uneasy, almost to the point of being paranoid. I'm not even sure if I should be this concerned about Yuta, maybe because of the increasing number of rouge thugs in the woods after the governmental collapse?

I don't know, maybe I'm thinking too hard about this.

"Dr. Takada?" Airi called for me by my title and surname. I narrowed my eyes to the left to find her giving me an indecisive look. Her expression is flat, made more evident by the distant look in her eyes. I might have not noticed it as much before, but her eyes seem dull, and tired, almost as though she hasn't slept properly in days.

"What is it Airi?" I tried to sound polite in my speech.

"Do you. Believe it?" Her monotone manner of speech has made returned as soon as Yuta left. I'm not too surprised, after all, he's the only person in this clinic that happens to be close in age with her. It's only natural that she feels more comfortable around him. However, that doesn't explain her unapproachable personality, or her lack of one for that matter.

"Believe what?" And she's very cryptic to add.

"The Magical Beasts. From NGL. Being here"... I honestly didn't expect such a question. Why is this girl suddenly interested in that subject again?

"Be more precise Airi" I demanded an explanation from her. In a way, I'm curious about this girl's reason for being so glum. She didn't go through a traumatic phase, especially since Shinyoju was unaffected by the purge, then she doesn't have any direct reason to be in such a state. Unless however, I'm wrong.

Airi was taking her time to reply. Perhaps she is even unsure about her own question. "Do you think. That they were... Involved?".

Is this girl serious!? Is she really that naive?. "No. First off, Hypnosis Butterflies are insects in the order Lepidoptera, while humans are mammals belonging to the family Hominoidea. Although the subject of our origin is currently undergoing extensive research*, that doesn't mean that butterflies have any links to our evolutionary lines".

I headed back towards my desk while keeping my eyes focused on Airi. Turning my desk chair to toward her direction as I got there, I gestured for her to take a seat on one of the clinic's many reception seating.

"Secondly" I began again. "It's irrational in evolutionary terms for a mammal in such form and size to carry a respiratory pigment less efficient than that of Hemoglobin, this is made more irrelevant by the fact that most invertebrates don't even have respiratory pigments in the first place, Lepidoptera included, they mostly have larger blood cells capable of amoeboid movements instead".

"And thirdly" Airi's expression is bordering that of a disappointed one, It makes me wonder if she was hoping that this ridicules conspiracy theory was real. "The time needed for Hallucinogens to take into effect ranges between thirty minutes at the minimum, and two hours. Most claims of the so called butterfly wings came from people who saw it after undergoing a minor recovery from the drug, before being exposed to another dose of it, thus making the vivid wings nothing more than sensory illusions".

Airi is staring right past me now. Was she paying enough attention to what I just said? I let out a small sigh, my right hand cupping my chin as I tilt my head to my left.

"Was my explanation sufficient?" I believe questioning her in this form would help me understand a thing or two more about this kid, her behavior is troubling.

The girl in question looked back at me heedlessly. "I. Don't. Know..." I could hardly make out any comprehensive words from her mumbling.

"Was there anything I left out?" I'll see how she responds to this... She does seem to pause a lot before responding. I wish Yuta was still here, at least he could have gotten a faster, and far more natural reaction out of her.

"Wa... Weren't some magical beasts involved?" This again!?. "That's a subject under questioning" I replied. "But. A lion. And a cheetah Beast were whitnesse-" "-That doesn't prove anything" I cut her out, nearly regretting doing so, she looks a bit distraught at my sudden change in tone.

"Look, Airi" I started in a more politely in hopes of appearing to be somewhat more approachable. She's eyeing the ground, either in an attempt avoid eye contact... Or some other reason. I'm not good at dealing with the socially stroppy am I?

" I know you aren't feeling well" I faced her direction more formally now, her eyes remained affixed to the wooden flooring however. "Everyone in this clinic has already noticed that Airi". She looks a little apprehensive now, her left hand sliding up her right arm, and resting the palm on her right shoulder with her right arm slumped down.

"You can tell me what's wrong" She responded by shaking her head. This is going to be difficult, but I can't change her mind if she doesn't even want to talk. She did confirm that there is something wrong nonetheless, thereby confirming my intuition. Even though Shinyoju got away from the purge, that doesn't guarantee that its inhabitants haven't lost any relatives or friends from different parts of the country. Maybe she lost a friend?

I can hear Shiori complaining to Momoka about our current lack of Anti-Infective Medicines, the name Clotrimazole came in mention. Well there are many cases of yeast infections around, and given the lack of Anti-Fungal Medications, the number of cases just keep on increasing... Poverty, malnutrition, and poor sewage systems have taken the greater blame for the majority of diseases, infections, and above all, deaths. This can't be helped by improving the healthcare system alone, the countries entire infrastructure needs to be reformed.

"Airi would you help out even a bit!" Airi's attention was caught by Shiori calling for her. "The survey team is arriving soon, can you help me make this place more presentable!?"

"Y-Yes Ma'm!" Came the hasty reply from Airi whom immediately left the seating.

This survey is going to be long and amusing, I get to finally know where's the outside world is at. Yuta is surly going to love this.

* * *

... I can hear the sound of a car engine as it parks outside the clinic.

The survey team has arrived... And Yuta is yet to show up _._

The footsteps were muffled by the diesel generator, for I can only hear the firm knocking on the entrance door. Moving forward, I grip the door handle and slowly open the door for the survey team.

Only three men stood at the doorstep. Two of them appeared to be native to the Mitene Union, except for the third man with the cyan eyes. One of the native men has graying hair yet his physical built is well and healthy, in his late forties maybe? The other, slightly younger looking man had chocolate brown hair, a few shades darker than Shiori's own hair.

"Dr. Ryuga, Takada? It was the foreigner who spoke... And his accent is a flimsy one. Had Yuta been here, he likely would have said something sardonic. Perhaps it's a good thing if he shows up a little bit later, might as well avoid being mortified in front of the survey team.

I simply nodded. "I'm Dr. David Andrews. Head of this survey team". The foreign man announced his name in a way that almost seemed uncompromising. The older man smiled "Dr. Takada, I'm Eita Saito. A pleasure to meet you" He outstretched his arm, and I accepted the offer by giving the man, Eita, a handshake. At least he's friendly.

"I'm Yuki Nakajima" The last man introduced himself. I gave him an acknowledging nod in return.

"Please come in" I invited the survey team inside the clinic, casually asking Momoka to hand over the log files as I walked back to the waiting room. David, and his teammates are already concerned with their surrounding it seems, particularly David, who's eyeing every corner of the room. Searching for faults, and there are many of them sadly.

The man in question went off to inspect the walls, and of course, their condition, and effects on objects within close proximity.

"The seating legs are a little rusted near this wall". He then paid close heed to the wall itself. "The wall paint is slightly cracked" He wandered his eyes to the trail of the cracks "The pipes need maintenance, they are causing the walls to be damp". Dragging his ring finger along the window frame, he frowned in disapproval about what he found.

" The window frames need to be changed. There is either fungi or bryophytes on the inner edges. Fix the humidity issue first". Yuki Nakajima handed David a tissue he seemed to have had in his left chest pocket.

"I would be more than delighted to repair those pipes" I began to explain. "However, the plumbing alone would cost over twenty thousand tensu*, and we really can't afford that". We can almost afford nothing at all for this clinic. We barely even manage to afford the cost of sterilizers alone, hell, we don't even have disposable syringes and needles.

He looked almost perplexed, perhaps he doesn't know how much is a tensu worth? "That's about two hundred and forty thousand jenny" Eita informed David about this exchange rate difference. I'm no fool, I know that the so called 'Outside world' has it far better than us. That price I mentioned is most likely meaningless outside this mockery of a country.

David took a long look at the clinic staff. "Are there only four of you? I was informed there are five staff members, where is the fifth?" Damn it Yuta, you really chose to take trip now of all times did you?

"No, he isn't here at the moment. This is highly unusual of him to do so, if you're wondering, you can check the attendance log". As I expected, he gave me a gesture to hand the log over to him. The 'World' really does take sensitive issues seriously. People here would be annoyed, and would even go as far as to consider this an invasion of privacy. That's the outcome of a poor and sluggish lifestyle that plagued this nation.

David began browsing the folder pages at fast past, a sign of being accustomed to his job.

" May I have your IDs, License IDs, and student IDs for those still studying. If you can provide me with the absent person's IDs, please hand it over". Eita gave out the request while David was busy going through the log.

Momoka reached for the files that she neatly sorted at the reception desk. I can notice that Airi is a little nervous. She doesn't have a student ID yet, nor even a CV. However she did say that she had brought along her secondary school diploma, and her official acceptance transcripts along with copies of both. What's troubling her?

Ignoring her behavior momentarily, I went to the hanger to fetch Yuta's IDs. It should be in his inner lab coat pocket. Carefully touching the fabric of Yuta's lab coat, I felt the surface of the ID cards, wasting little time in removing them from the pocket, I went to Eita to hand them over.

Eita began reading the CVs. "We would like you to hand us printed copies of your CVs and IDs please". Again, Momoka followed out his request by handing him a folder that contained copies. The only problem remaining is Airi.

"You young miss" Eita mentioned to Airi. "Yes?"Her voice is so faint.

"Do you have any formal documents containing personal information?".

"I have my high school diploma. And my college acceptance transcripts". Eita, David, and Yuki all looked baffled upon hearing those words.

"You're. You're not even a college student yet?" David seems to be more shocked at this than his two companions, adding more to Airi's anxiety in the process.

Eita appears to have caught on Airi's sudden uneasiness. "Would you mind showing us your papers?" He asked Airi civilly. The girl rushed for her backpack at the hanger. Hopefully they won't ask why a tan colored stuffed animal with a magenta ribbon is sitting on the reception desk. If they did, I'll just lie and say it belongs to my daughter Mei, not telling them the real owner of the doll, Airi.

Why would an eighteen year old carry a stuffed animal to a clinic? She is so strange..

Airi hands the copies over to Eita after retrieving it from her backpack. "May I borrow a pen?" Yuki asks, Shiori reaches for the pen she almost always has in either one of her spacious lab coat pockets, and gave it to Yuki.

"Miss... Arai" Yuki says after reading her full name from the transcript copy Eita was holding. "I need to ask you some questions".

"Yes?".

"What's your blood type?". "It's O, Rh positive".

"What's your age, birthday, and your location of birth?". "I'm eighteen. I was born on February fourteenth, in the village of Shinyoju".

"Names of direct family members?".

"..." Airi stilled upon hearing the question.

"Miss Arai?".

"My parents are. Togo.. And. Murasaki Arai".

The way she addresses her mother's name is chilling. As if replaced by someone else, her voice changed to the point of being unrecognizable as her own as she says the name. As far as I'm concerned, the implications are disheartening.

"My siblings are. Sei, and. Tanizaki Arai". She says their names more easily than the names of her parents. Her mother's name particularly.

"Thank you miss Arai" Came the respond from Yuki.

I motioned for Airi to sit on my desk chair, the least I can do to ease her current state of mind... She just walked past me, and I can see how faded her eyes are.

"How many rooms are there in this clinic?" David spoke again after going through the files at a fast pace. "Fourteen rooms" Came my reply. "Elaborate".

"The waiting room, administration, pharmacy, mechanical supplies, the lab, a closet room, medical records room, Pediatric and Obstetrics examination room, general family examination room, emergency and delivery room, the patient ward, patients bathroom, and on a separate wing; there's a single bedroom, a makeshift kitchen room, and a bathroom ".

"Do you have a dental examination room?". "No".

"A radiology room?". "No".

"Does someone occupy that room?". "I do" Shiori replied, and David was again stumped by what he had to hear. "You live in that wing?" He genuinely sounds surprised. "It is spacious enough to be considered a housing for one person". "Why do you live there?" She won't tell him the real reason. "Close to my job. Double the benefit for emergency situations". Shiori can be very amusing sometimes.

David appears to have given up on asking her why she lives at the clinic she works in. His expression returns back to being stoic. He looks at me now " We need to conduct a proper examination of the clinic's equipment, supplies, and rooms".

"Where first?" I asked. "The Pharmacy room".

"Please follow me" This survey is going to take some time.

* * *

It's currently twelve minutes past seven.

The survey team left the clinic over twenty minutes go. There was a long conversation concerning how many of our equipments are outdated, the critical shortage in essential drugs, our lack of primary vaccines, poor sterilization methods, lack of disposable syringes, how under furnished the clinic was, and the need to remodel the patient's ward room.

The thing is, David admitted that this clinic is in a far better shape than the rest of those he had visited in the past week.

For crying out loud, he outright told me that by having only twenty four percent of the WHC's list of essential primary care drugs is relatively good in comparison to other clinics.

We do need to replace many of our current instruments with newer, more advanced ones: Immunology; 3D; and orbital shakers, more advanced centrifuges, a dry block thermostat, a VU cleaner box, a more advanced densitometer, better laboratory microscopes... Amongst many others.

Eita told us that we need Fume Hoods in the wing Shiori lives in so she can stay clear from airborne hazards.

... I can't seem to be able distract myself anymore.

Airi recently called her father using the landline phone to inform him that she's staying at my house, she convinced him after several minutes of pleading. She's currently sitting like a statue, her expression unreadable, but her face is very pale, her eyes look vacant and she's staring into nothingness.

I've never seen Shiroi so distressed before in my seven years of knowing her. She's pacing around the room aimlessly with her arms folded, the clanking sound of her heels are ringing loudly in my ears. Momoka's face is buried in palms, her elbows resting on the reception desk, she's occasionally exhaling a long sigh that nearly sounds like a groan.

I'm sitting on my desk chair, one elbow placed vertically on the table, with my balled fist supporting my cheek. My other hand lays on the desk with a piece of paper in its hold.

The paper has a number written on it. The number belongs to the district police department.

I'm merely minutes away from calling the district police.

To declare Yuta as officially missing.

* * *

A/N: Where's Yuta?... Okay making a Waldo joke isn't exactly funny (more like lame).

I hope the survey team members were characterized well, this may be their one, and only appearance in the entire fanfic, so they won't be leaving behind any impact on the story. Just there because the plot calls for it.

Airi i intentionally characterized to be so dumbstruck, and the reason is yet to be revealed. Speaking of which, the clinic's team members were named randomly, however, Airi's family are a different story. All of her family members have their names themed after classical Japanese writers (I know East Gorteau is supposed to be based on North Korea, but the culture appears to resemble a Japanese one):

Her younger brother is inspired by Tanizaki Junichiro. Author of 'The Makioka Sisters'.

Her younger sister is inspired by Sei Shonagon. Author of the miscellany 'Makura no Soshi'(The Pillow Book).

Her father is inspired by Ihara Saikaku (Whose real name might be Togo Hirayama). A writer and a poet, famous for many works such as 'The Life of an Amorous Man', and 'Five Women Who Loved Love'.

Her mother's name takes the icing on the cake. Inspired by Murasaki Shikibu, who is considered one of the greatest writers in the history of Japan, her infamous story 'Tale of the Genji' (possibly written in 1010 AD) is considered to be the world's first novel.

*1: I'm still trying to describe the minor differences in evolutionary paths (minor differences in one animal's evolution can leave a tremendous impact on the future of the ecosystem. That's a real example of the Butterfly Effect), so I'm still trying to come up with how humans evolved on this planet.

*2: Even though Jenny is a currency as global as the dollar, that doesn't make it the planet's only form of currency. One Tensu equals 12+-0.2 Jenny. (12.2~11.8 jenny) But I will change the currency soon, because believe me currency goes through drastic changes during political events (Take what happened to the English Pound because of Brexit for an example).

And finally. Meruem will make an appearance next chapter. Before I forget:

The concept art for Airi: ( /a/u2eBZ add imgur . com before the link).

See you folks on the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter: 3

Author's Notes: Eight thousand words in one chapter. Dang.

Well a long chapter after such a long wait is neat right? Well... This chapter is different. There's a lot of things that may seem out of context with the HxH Anime/Manga, or Anime and Manga in general.

I did say that I'm staying away from any BS found in anime shows, so expect characters to express pain, and use actual fighting moves instead of (Backflip lazar beem boom!). I'm sick and tired of how unrealistically overpowered characters are portrayed in Japanese media, so many situations are just plain impossible.

I'm going to talk about a minor change in the Chimera Ant arc since this (somewhat) counts as an AU:

All of the Chimera Ants were born stark naked, they weren't born with clothes, and they did not get the outfits they are wearing in the Manga/Anime until after they left NGL once the queen died. They were wearing clothes they stole from the villages they raided, and once they left NGL they obtained (stole) clothes that suits their personalities and preferences.

Pouf did not obtain the violin in NGL, he found one in the palace. And Meruem did not invade the palace during the same day he was born, nor the next. His guards hid him for several days until his shell like armor on numerous parts of his body (exoskeleton? ((I'm still working on it)) ) has hardened.

None of this has any effect on the plot, but I just wanted to address the impossible scenario of them being born with hipster outfits as plain BS.

P.S: This chapter contains content not suitable for people who are easily frightened and disturbed by gory imagery, so I set a warning in the chapter for where the content starts and where it ends.

Disclaimer: I do not own HxH, I'm doing this fanfiction because of an annoying plot bunny that I just can't shoot.

* * *

 _3:08 p.m. Shinyoju Forest:_

 _Between thick forest shrubs, a lone humanoid life form was well assimilated within the colors of his surroundings effectively concealing his presence._

 _Taking caution not to cause any audible sound that might disturb his game, after all, he was lucky enough to find a stream to drink from, but he lucked out in finding slow and easy to catch prey. At his current state, he can't afford to waste any energy in a chase that's likely to end in failure._

 _He encountered a small animal earlier this day, but it got away too fast despite his efforts. He's too weak and tired to run after it. He found the stream shortly before dawn, but he couldn't dare try to hunt until it was noon. Other predators live in this forest, and they hunt in packs during the night and early morning he observed. It was until they went away that he had the opportunity to start hunting without the risk of being attacked by those predators for trespassing and hunting on their territory._

 _His game is easy to follow. He's been shadowing it for some time now, and his game is yet show any signs of alarm. On the contrary, his game is heavily distracted leaving it vulnerable._

 _Despite the agonizing pain of his hunger, he waits patiently. One moment, a moment where he is certain that his game won't have the chance to react. A moment where his game is unable to run, hide, make a loud noise, nor even retaliate. If he fails to kill it instantly, he will fail and die out of starvation._

 _The pursuit continues with him making sure to keep his distance and to conceal his presence from his soon to be meal. His mouth waters, and his tail stiffens as the scent of his game fills his nostrils more than ever before. His Game just halted, and crouched down to look down upon the low sheer drop ahead._

 _Now's his chance! He inches closer around three times the speed he was stalking his game with, all while being tremendously careful not to alarm it._

 _Gradually getting closer, he stops within a four meter distance. His Game is still where it crouches. Now he just needs the right moment, to snap it's neck with the blunt force of his tail swing._

 _After the passing of several seconds, his game turned its neck to the left leaving it facing the opposite direction of his location. Patiently waiting for his game's current position to remain, he waits for it to shift it's legs to the left, and when it did, he carefully emerged from the shrubs soundlessly._

 _Only a little more than two meters in distance apart, and his game remains oblivious to his presence. It appears that this animal is terrible at surviving in the forest, he can hardly believe how easy it is to follow. All that it will take now is for his game to attempt to stand and he'll strike it's neck._

 _Less than two meters apart now, he's perfectly in range with his game now. Any moment now, will be his moment... There!_

 _His game is attempting to stand, he immediately arches his tail giving his now to be kill less than a second to register what's happening. He sees it's horror stricken eyes at the mere sight of him._

 _But it's too late. It never managed to turn its neck around more than halfway before getting snapped down along with its head after the side of his tail impacted with its neck, killing it in an instant just like he hoped._

 _All of the tension in his muscles washed away in a wave of relief as he finally managed to get what he desperately needed. He was so relieved, that he found himself to be smiling to know that the pain of his hunger will soon diminish._

 _Coiling his tail around the waist of his kill, and with exertion, he begins to drag the body away from the sheer drop and into the shrubs he was hiding in. He kept on dragging the body till he was six meters away from where his kill was crouching._

 _Pinning the body to a tree while keeping it in a sitting position, he uncoiled his tail from the body. His muscles begin to quiver in anticipation, where to start he begins to wonder._

 **(Warning!: The content below contains very gruesome details of a corpse being mauled. If this bothers you, skip to where the warning ends!).**

 _He leans down and begins to sniff the corpse. He holds the body's right arm as he sits on its legs. Annoyed by the fabric covering the tender skin below, he shreds the sleeve with the spicule at the end of his tail._

 _Fascinated by the texture of the skin, he lowers his head to the level where the biceps are .After tracing the smooth skin with his four fingered hands he gives the skin a couple of long licks, the action stimulates his taste buds and saliva begins to secrete from the corner of his lips._

 _He opens his mouth more widely, proudly showing off his razor sharp curved canines. He presses them against the soft skin of his kill, and then sinks them in the flesh of the biceps. He stops for a moment to savor the metallic taste of the blood that's now within the cavity of his mouth. A pleased hum escapes his mouth as his senses are now intoxicated under the taste, smell, and warmth of the blood, skin and flesh of his meal._

 _A chunk of meat, the size of a mouthful is now ripped off of his kill's biceps. He begins to chew, relishing the savory, almost tart, taste of the flesh. He swallows the mouthful, and moves to lap the blood that has oozed from the aperture he made as his highly acidic stomach begins to digest the first mouthful._

 _Never did he imagine that this animal would taste so delicious. He wants more, and more he gets by shredding another mouthful, chewing it, then swallowing. He continues until there's nothing left of the biceps, and the triceps are now half eaten._

 _Wanting more, he bores into the deltoids taking it all in within three hungry bites and then taking around thirty seconds to breath in deep intakes of air. He begins to eat again, albeit more slowly, aiming to finish the triceps of the right arm._

 _Many minutes have passed. The arm has been cleared from its muscles save for the hand muscles and a few tendons that were left ignored. Deciding to take a break until the meat has been digested into soup that will pass through is intestines._

 _But first, he'd like to find something nutritious that's worth nibbling on. The liver._

 _Using both hands, he rips the fabric that's covering the abdomen revealing the chest and belly of his kill. He points the spicule of his tail at the middle of the kill's chest skin, and then pierces the soft skin._

 _Slicing his way down to the ends of the ribcage, he peels the flesh away from his kill's right side of the chest, revealing the ribs beneath. Removing his tail, and peeling the other side away, he uses one hand to break the lower six right ribs._

 _He licks his bloodied lips as soon as he begins to pry his kill's liver out its chest cavity. The warmth of his kill's guts thrills him, and just when the liver is ripped away, blood splatter covers his already dirt, meat and blood covered body. The warmth of his kill radiates and it's scent is now hypnotizing._

 _Two lips press against the moist surface of the liver, he envelopes a small area with his lips then nibbles on it slowly, taking his time with this organ to pass the time_ _needed for his stomach to pass the food within it. The liver has a slightly sweet taste that he wants to enjoy snacking on._

* * *

 _Some time passes during his feeding, now more than halfway through the liver, he begins to observe his kill as he nibbles on its liver._

 **(The Warning! Ends here, the most disturbing parts are over!)**

 _Amongst the first things he cares to notice is the facial similarities, he did see his own reflection in the stream after all. The facial muscles, jaw line, and nose resemble his own face's features. A major distinguisher is the teeth, the kill's jaw is open agape revealing the short and blunted canines as opposed to his sharp and curved ones, which means the animal he killed isn't a predator, or at best, a terrible one that can only catch very small animals._

 _It's arms, legs, abdomen, and neck are all very similar to his own yet they have their differences. He has tougher skin along with protective organic armor found in many sections of his body, many of the joints are different, he only has four fingers per hand instead of the fiver his kill has._

 _The kil- creature's skin and muscle are ludicrously soft, he can easily cut through it as though it's grass. His own muscles on the contrary are dense, and his skin is too thick and firm to even bruise._

 _What's he's finding to be difficult to understand is why this large creature is very poor at recognizing and detecting danger. No animal in this forest is as oblivious as this one was. How did it manage to survive that long is a mystery._

 _... Unless, this creature didn't actually live in the forest._

 _If he's going to deduce it's habitat based on what it's diet should be, then he'll have to say that this creature lived in a meadow instead of a forest. A place with lots of short vegetation, and small animals that it can eat. The short vegetation made it used to living in a lifestyle where nor predator or prey can hide. Perhaps it's kind even lives in groups, that can explain why it ignored the possibility of dangers lurking by._

 _But why was it-... He. This creature has no breast glands, it's probably male. Is that why they're covering their body with fabric? It would explain the need to hide exposing their genitals from the surrounding environment, however they wouldn't need to cover anything above the waist._

 _Then again, neither dose he himself need fabrics to conceal himself? He looks at the sleeveless short fabric he's wearing and tries to think of a reason why he's even wearing it in the first place._

 _Returning to his previous thoughts, he wonders again as to why this creature was alone in the forest. They had to be foolish to wander here, don't they know that a pack of hunting animals live here?_

 _That is true except that the pack hunts from nightfall until morning, and at this time, they're at their den. So the forest is safe for this creature, that's why it paid no heed to its surroundings. All of this was purely luck then, this creature slow and weak had decided to venture where he happened to be at, giving him his one and only chance of survival._

 _They died solely so he can live. Judging by the fabrics, and whatever it is they're wearing to protect the soft skin of their feet, and the curiosity they displayed while they were wandering in the forest, they must be far more intelligent than the remaining animals of the forest._

 _Finishing off the remaining bits of this creatures liver, he stares at them. Their dead body. He will eat half of the left arm and leave the rest. The pack will find the body and eat all of it. As soon as he eats his fill, he'll rest several meters away so that when the pack arrives they'll take his distance as a sign of surrendering the body to them., he doesn't want any trouble with the pack as he sleeps after all._

 _Wasting no time, he rips the sleeve off, leans down, and immediately sinks his canines in the now cooled flesh. He has to eat fast for nightfall isn't far off, the pack won't be pleased to know that he is eating on their grounds. Other than the pack he needs to go back to the stream as soon as he wakes up. He needs to drink water, and wash himself clean... Perhaps he should also wash the fabric he's wearing and dry it._

* * *

 _It takes time, but he finally managed to eat the required quantity of meat to help him restore his own body strength. After the last gulp he slouches down to his knees. Finally, his mortal famish has subsided._

 _Now he needs to get away from the body, the sun is setting, it'll be dark out here soon. He stands up and slowly walks to a tree about five meters away, the relentless eating has left him feeling both fatigued and heavy._

 _... What's that sound?_

 _At once, he turns his head to the source. There's something hiding behind a large and tall boulder, the shuffling sound came from there._

 _He stealthily approaches the bolder, this action takes several minutes to accomplish for any sound of broken twig, or even the crunching of the fallen coniferous trees needle-like leaves would alert whatever's hiding behind the boulder._

 _Now that his body is touching the surface of the left face of the boulder, he peeps to see what's hiding all while keeping in mind to remain as cautious as he can be in remaining hidden away from the animal that sits at the base of the boulder._

 _Much to his surprise, and awe. He finds another one of those interesting creatures sitting there with their knees huddled to their chest, and their arms wrapped around their legs. This one is very much alive._

 _This one is bad news for him. Judging by the dread that's evident on their face, he can tell that this one knows that he killed and feasted on one of their own kind. Would it go back and inform the rest? If so, then keeping it alive is too risky, the pack is his only current threat, and if he lets this one go he might have another threat._

 _Should he kill it right away? No. He'll keep it around until the pack shows up, and once they do show up he should kill them, rip out a chunk of meat, alert the pack of their corpse's presence, and make a run for it back to the stream. So for now, he'll keep them under his watch._

 _Not caring about hiding himself, this creature is too frightened to move anyways, he simply walks towards the creature. His approach is loud enough to make them realize his attendance, but they moves not, rather they keeps their eyes focused on the earth below them. They're shuddering he noticed, the trembles becoming more evident as he gets closer, and closer, until he's standing next to them._

 _He stares at the creature, their eyes are now devoid of any signs of emotions as it gazes at the ground, like they no longer bother to care._

"You're going to kill me aren't you".

 _Did they just babble? Those aren't sounds animals usually make. Can he make them do that again? He should try, maybe they'll utter a different sequence of sounds. He uses his tail to lightly shove them, they push the tail away with their left arm._

"Why don't you just do it already".

 _They did it again, and the sounds are indeed sequential! He wants to know which syllables are repeated the most, how can he get it to react again?_

 _Thinking about it for a moment, he decides to sit on the ground merely a finger's distance away from the creature. They are now taking shallow breaths, and he can faintly hear their heartbeat. He reaches out to touch it's cheek, the creature tenses, upon contact he realizes that the cheek is cold, but the creature isn't dead, and it isn't cold outside either, so why are their cheeks cold? Is the rest of their skin cold as well?_

 _Did they just glance at him?_

"You don't understand me, do you".

 _There! The repeated syllables! They uttered 'You' five times, and 'me' twice. Does the 'you' refer to him? If that's true, then 'me' must refer to them from their perspective. That said, then from his own perspective 'me' refers to himself, and 'you' to them._

 _Now what will this creature do if he calls it?_

 _"Yeou" Not a good attempt at repeating the syllable, but it's enough to finally make this creature react. Their pupils shrink in shock, like they weren't expecting that from him. Come to think of it, neither did he himself expect to... Repeat, to learn the syllable and repeat it like that._

"You spoke!?"

 _"S-s-spook" He needs time to learn how to repeat the syllables. He takes it that every syllable has its own meaning._

 _Now why was their cheek cold again? He nearly forgot about that. His hand leaves the cheek and descends down to where the fabric covering the upper body ends, he pinches the fabric, and begins to tug it upwards. This action makes the creature's breath freeze._

 _The creature wraps their arms around their legs much more tightly once the fabric reached their chest, thereby preventing him from pulling the fabric all the way up. He's not pleased by this, he wants the fabric removed without the need to rip it!_

 _He uses his free hand to try to pry one of the creature's arms away from their legs and chest, they refuse to oblige by trying to resist. He's having none of that, he wants to feel the skin without cutting it or ripping the fabric now, so he holds their left wrist, and tugs at the fabric up motioning for them to let him proceed._

 _They refuse. He has no choice, he squeezes the wrist with force, but not enough to break or damage._

" **Ahhha! Stop it, please just stop!** "

 _The creature howls in pain, and this syllable 'stop' repeats twice their meaning is quite clear, they want him to halt his action, and he does. They unwrap their arms and use the unharmed hand to check the hurt wrist. He gives them about twenty seconds to resume this behavior, he doesn't like the increase in tremors._

 _The seconds pass, and the tremors ease down. Good he thinks, now he can make them remove the fabric. He tugs it up once again and speaks while doing so._

 _"Yeou". And he tugs up again._

 _Understanding the command, the creature reluctantly helps him in removing the fabric from their body. He takes the fabric, and sets it neatly on the ground._

 _He couldn't help but admire their body. The skin is clean, and though there is less muscle- does he even want the flesh? No, he wants to understand them without the need to slice through them._

 _Even though the blood on his hands has now dried, the creature's eyes begin to cloud as some traces of caked dry blood are being left of on his smooth soft, yet cold skin as his hands begin to gently rub their shoulders. He notices this, but fails to understand the reasoning behind their distress._

 _Leveling his head to their neck, and letting one palm rest over where their heart is located he rests his cheek at the crook of their neck. This part is warm, and he can feel the rush of blood, and the heartbeat of this creature. Very soothing._

 _Something drips on his helmet shell causing him to look up. The creature's eyes are leaking. Confused, he moves the hand on their shoulder to wipe away the water trickling from their eyes._

 _They look at him now with equal confusion, only that their reaction is mixed with fear. He keeps on wiping away the water before attempting to speak._

 _"Yeou.. Spoak. M-mme"._

 _Is this creature like the ones where he was buried? There was probably four others buried there, they are all dead except for him, but he can't remember what they looked like, and why he was even there. What is he anyways._

"You, what are you trying to say?"

 _He doesn't understand what they're mumbling. He tries again._

 _"M-mme". He points a finger at himself, then at the other "Yeuo". Finally he waves his hand between their faces "Spoak"._

"You... Want to talk to me?"

 _'Want'. Does this syllable stand for desire? And there is 'Talk', he believes that it means something like 'speak'. He takes a few seconds to figure out how to form a phrase that he can use to speak with the other.. Person._

 _"M-me. Jus, wan-nt to. Tallk eth you"_

 _The other looks shocked by hearing the phrase, but he doesn't reply to him. Is there something else he forgot to use, perhaps another syllable. Thinking deeply, he begins to run his mind through the different syllables he heard the other say._

 _Believing to have found the right one, he utters with sincerity. "Peleaze"._

 _The other looks at him with something other than shock or fear. they point at him now and says_ "You!" _They then point at the wrist that he squeezed_ "HURT!" _they speak loudly with a anger, and the new syllable gives off its meaning easily 'hurt' is related to pain. The other points at themselves then and says_ "Me!".

"You'll kill and eat me won't you!?"

 _They hold the hand that's over their chest with their unhurt one stand up making him stand up with them as well. They walk, and he walks with them until the other points at the body several meters away from the duo._

"You" _They point at him now, and then at his tail, then says as makes a mock chop at their neck_ "Killed" _Now they fist their palm and aim it at their mouth while making an imitation of a bit_ "And ate him".

"You will kill and eat me too!"

 _They were practically shouting at him now. He takes it that 'Kill' is to end the life of a living, and 'ate' 'eat' is the act of consumption. This person assumes that he is going to kill them and eat them as well. While it's true that he wants to kill him eventually... Should he? If he killed this person, who will he talk to?_

 _"M-me stop want. Kel nd eet you. Me jus want to talk to, you"._

"I have to" _They say while pointing the hurting hand at themselves, then points it at the fores_ t "Go away now". _Then they point to the darkening sky._ "Before it's too dark out here" _Now they aim at their eyes_ "I can't see in the dark".

 _Do they want him to let them go? He doesn't want that. No, he's going to keep them here with him until morning, and once the pack is back at their den, he'll take them to the stream so they can wash their now dirtied body and fabric too._

 _And then what? He ponders while the dragging the other back to the base of the boulder ignoring their protests. Once he motions for them to sit down, and sits down next to them, he uses his tail wraps it tail around their left ankle thus trapping them. If they go now, he won't be able to learn more syllables, to top it off, they may even call for a hostile search, that is if the pack doesn't eat them by the time they're halfway back to their nest._

 _He needs to say something to the other, recalling the new syllables. 'Dark' for night he thinks, 'go' leave, 'away' far, 'can't' unable, and 'see' is for sight. Still, he doesn't understand the other syllables. He begins to form a phrase in his mind before addressing the other._

 _"You, caan-nt go way, dar-rrk" He can't say new syllables properly after one try._

"What!? You don't understand I have to go now! It's probably past seven and I haven't went back yet!"

 _He takes his time to try to piece together what the other said. Is 'don't' like 'can't'? But they said 'can't' when they were addressing themselves, and now they said 'don't' when addressing him. He can't figure out exactly what they're trying to say, but they seem to insist on leaving._

 _"You go, woooo kel nd et you" Maybe he can warm them about the pack, that way they'll stay here with him._

"Woo? You mean the wolves? You just ate a human being! The guy was just standing there and you broke his neck, dragged him away and started mauling his body! Yet you want me to stay with you? What are you saving me for yourself!?"

 _The said that way too fast for him to register anything. He's going to make them stay until morning, he's tired and he wants to sleep, so he tells the other._

 _"Mme cann't un- un... unda s-s-stan wat you jus spoke"_

 _They just sigh in frustration. He thinks nothing of it and rests his head at their shoulder. He's very tired he wants to sleep. The other makes a displeased sound, but he doesn't feel like responding right now._

 _Sleep soon overcomes him._

* * *

7:23:01 p.m. At the clinic:

The atmosphere of the clinic is stagnant, the rumbling of the diesel engine is missing with the main power source back. Only the muffled sound of the wind breeze outside, along with the agonizing echo of the ticking clock.

Now with Shiori sitting two seats away from Airi, the passage of time seemed to slow down.

I remember the day the young man was assigned here to serve his clinical hours, he came through the entrance door grinning childishly. My first impression of him was that of an snootily city boy, both of his parents are physicians after all, he probably wouldn't want to be assigned in a place like this, no, he'd likely rather serve at a college hospital.

I was so wrong about him. While he did seem self righteous at first, constantly patronizing everyone he talks to all while making sure no one can call him out for anything he does. A rich kid was a rare sight, and he was showing the typecast of one. That was until the first emergency case, it was then that he began to show his true nature, by staying up restlessly for two days and nights straight, never leaving the patient's side.

He looked genuinely relived when the patient recovered from their critical condition, and since that day, he gradually became less haughty and became more unpretentious.

By his second summer here, I began to consider him to be my friend. Even Momoka and Shiori warmed up to him, even though he and Shiori bicker often.

...The clock ticked at seven twenty four.

Yuta, please... Be safe, please... Be safe...

... The clock ticks again, and again, and again. It's echoes are excruciating. With each ticking sound, I'm getting reminded that time is running out, that less than six minutes remain before I'm going to be forced to admit that Yuta may not come back through that door again.

 _Tick_

He never spent longer than three hours during a walk before. It's almost five and a half hours since he left.

 _Tick_

Three hours was the latest he's ever been out in the forest during these walks.

 _Tick_

... There are reports of bandits in the- ... No, no. Don't think of that.

 _Tick_

So maybe I was right. I was worried, I had a feeling this wasn't a good idea...

 _Tick_

I should have stopped him. I really shouldn't have allowed him to leave amidst a chaotic situation.

 _Tick_

... He isn't playing us.

 _Tick_

Something must have happened.

 _Tick_

Yuta... Please.

 _Tick_

Don't be dead.

 _The clock ticks at seven twenty five._

Five minutes left. Yuta will be declared missing after five minutes from now and that is all I can do for him.

How much longer can I stand? Is this what the other districts went through?

I. I should go look for him, this is a stupid and dangerous idea but I just can't stand to sit around and wait for the police to search for him.

Standing up all of a sudden, I head to the mechanical supply room. Shiori follows me, she probably has a hunch that I'm going to do something reckless, I reach the drawer where the flashlight I don't even look at Shiori.

"If I'm not back by ten, call the district police".

"Are you out of your god damn mind Ryuga!?" I withdraw the flash light from the drawer then walk out the room. "Please do as I say Shiori".

"What will I tell Haruka!?" Oh that's right my wife, I'll be back, I'll make sure I do so.

Now I've reached the reception room, I waste no time taking off my lab coat, this startles Momoka. "Shiori please don't call before ten, and don't tell my family where I went". I ignore both Shiroi's and Momka's calls and head outside.

I'll be damned if I don't find Yuta. I switch the flashlight on, I know my way around the woods here since I was a kid, and I also know where Yuta hangs out the most. The sheer drop.

* * *

I'm almost there now, not that it took me long to get there anyways, I've probably spent about twenty minutes to get here, I don't hear anything so far besides the croaking of frogs, the hooting of owls, and crickets. The tiny insects that were drawn by the light are now clinging on my cloths, some on my face, and others just circling around the flash light.

There it is, I finally reach the sheer, now he needs to figure out where Yuta would have went from here.

.. What's with the ground? I aim the flashlight below, the leaves look like they've been pushed away on both sides. I aim at the cliff of the sheer drop, only a little away from the edge do the leaves look pushed about. Are those, could they be drag marks?

I decide to track down where the drag lines go to, they seem to disappear in the shrubs, should I go there? I know there is that large boulder, Yuta hangs around there sometimes.

The shrubs are broken I must admit, something large must crushed most of the branches. I aim the flash light ahead... What's those marks on that tree... Splatter. I should check it out. I walk towards it I aim the flashlight at the gro-

... Blood.

I must track the source now! Where? The blood splatter is behind that tree, what could be there, please don't be what I fear, please don't be what I fear... Is that. I stop to look at what's on the ground. A piece of clothing, a torn one.

What is behind the tree? He should see it immediately, right the...!

 **"OH GOD!"**

What! What's- _'gasp'_ What has! _'gasp'_

 _'pant'... 'pant'_ There's... A mauled... Body..

The neck is snapped sharply down... the arms, oh god the arms! One is almost entirely cleaved... The other arm has missing chunks... The poor man's chest is open... The right ribs are cracked... What the hell happened here! Did the wolves do this!?

 _"Lloo"_

What was that!? I swear I could hear someone speak!

 _"Hello!?"_

That voice...! " **Yuta! Yuta where are you!"** Please respond Yuta!

 _"Doctor please run!"_

There's no way in hell I'm leaving him out here, his voice came from up ahead, the boulder. I should hurry, I'm almost there.

 _"PLEASE GO AWAY- ITS AWAKE!"_

What's awake? Yuta's at the base of the boulder, just around the corner now, there!

!...

... _'thump'... 'thump'... 'thump'...'thump'..._

Jus-... just...

 _'thump'. 'thump'. 'thump'._ what... Is that... Thing.

Dear god... This _thing_ with a human face!... It's drenched in blood... Oh god! Is that drying meat scraps on it!?... Its... Its... _tail_... Is wrapped around Yuta... The blood on its body... The blood... Is smeared... On Yuta's bare chest... And face..

"Doctor plea-" ! Did it just 'mmph mmph!' Cover Yuta's mouth with its hand!?

What should I do!? Just what should I do!?.

 _"You. Go. Way".._... !... I swear I almost felt my heart stop. _"Go. Way! You. Don go. Me Kel. You!"_

Wh-wh-what!? No! He can't let him remain here with this thing!. "Look, please. Let him go, and take me instead". I can hear Yuta's protesting muffles, but those amethyst eyes look enraged. "Please" All I can do is beg it... To... Take me instead.

... It only looks more enraged now... What can I do?... Just what?... It's.. IT'S BARRING IT'S TEETH!

 _"YOU, GO WAY, NOW"_

 _"DON GO AND ME KEL YOU WOOVES!"_ Wooves? What does that mean-

' _growling'_

* * *

 _They and their friend are both idiots! The combination of their yelling has attracted the wolves attention. He no longer has a choice now does he? He unwraps his tail from the ankle of the person he was speaking with before he fell asleep. He has to fight the wolves, they can't seem to understand speech anyways. Wild animals, not people._

 _Without a second thought, he lunges forward, and the wolf follows along- Only to be surprised as another wolf jumps down from the top of the boulder._

 _Quickly, he uses his spicule to slash at its belly, the force was strong enough, thanks to his speed and accelerating body, to cut its belly open, killing it._

 _This places him in a difficult situation, because he just lost his balance in the action leaving him defenseless to the attacking wolf whom now bites his right forearm, knocking him to the ground. Two other wolves attack, and they bite at his tail._

 _A sharp squeal escapes his throat, it hurts! His tail really hurts! He has to knock them off now! But this wolf is biting at his arm! He has to take immediate action! This wolf is standing over him!_

 _Wasting no time, he uses his free hand to grab it's head making the bite even more painful. While his eyes are half squinting from the pain, he snaps his right knee up to its chest, and because he is securing its head, neither does his forearm get broken or torn off, nor did the wolf have time to escape. It dies from possible ribs puncturing the heart and lungs._

 _While he's busy yanking the dead wolf's jaw off his forearm, the new person does something that surprises him. They aim the light emitting handle close at the eyes of the wolves biting at his tail. Startling the two wolves in the process._

 _He doesn't have to time to question what happened, the wolves regain their composure, leave his tail, and lunge forward aiming at his neck._

 _Quickly, he get up, dashes back, ducks, and snaps a front kick below the first wolf's jaw, the other managed to bite his left shoulder causing him to stumble to the ground. He can hear another three wolves approaching. He must kill this one now, or otherwise the others will attack at once. If he killed this wolf, the other three will retreat due to their drastic losses._

 _However his body collapsed on his tail, and damaged forearm, he can hardly move his body. Amidst his struggle, the new person flashed the light at the wolf's eyes again, causing it to jerk back. Taking the opportunity, he closes the wolf's jaw shut with his left hand, and wrings its neck, it dies immediately._

 _It's over. The three wolves in the distance run, their losses are too severe now, they need to keep the pack alive. He's not worth killing, no, he looks at the new person from the corner of his eye. They're not worth killing._

 _"Ugggh" He groans in pain. His shoulder has been bitten, and his tail hurts so much, he can't even bother to try to lift it, let alone drag it. "Ugghh" His tail is flaring up. It hurts so much, that he can't comprehend the syllables the other two have began to say._

"Yuta... Look at his blood". "Yeah, I can see it too. It's blue isn't it."

"... I can hardly believe it's true, so the conspiracy theorists aren't basing bullshit are they doctor?". "Yuta. Stay here with them for a bit". "Wait what!?"

"I'm going back to get the stretcher, you make sure they're in a more stable state by the time I arrive-". "-Doctor they're the one who killed that man!". "It does seem obvious by now Yuta, I just don't want to waste this opportunity _._ We're going to study it".

"Stay here okay?". "... Yes doctor".

 _They finish talking and the new person leaves. Where is the new person going, he doesn't know, all he knows is that the pain from the injuries his tail sustained is unbearable. The pain is nearly as bad as the pain he felt shortly after emerging from his burial, when all of his body felt like it was burning, and he kept on vomiting the contents of his then empty stomach._

 _He can feel a pressure on his unharmed shoulder, and another on his back. Is the first person trying to hold him steady? That's very thoughtful of them. That's it he decides, no more killing those creatures for food._

 _First the first one talks to him despite the fact that he hurt him, and the other one helped him fight off the wolves. They are physically weak, but they are smart, the other person even has a tool that emits light. He wants to know how they did it._

 _The first person is stroking his shoulder, the movement eases the tension in his body, helping to make the pain seem more tolerable in the process. He leans his back against the other, and although he wants to express gratitude to this person for staying with him, he doesn't know how to say it._

"You... You won't kill us right?"

 _Do they still think that he might hurt them? No he doesn't, he likes these creatures and he wants to learn from them as much as possible._

 _"M-mme... Stop, hewrt... nd. Kel you" "M-mme, jus wan, tak". He's so tired and overall weakened, that he can't even pronounce the syllables correctly._

"I really hope so".

 _Sleep begins to overtake him again as the pain began to ease a little bit._

* * *

I make it back quickly, I'm not very used to running, but the soft surface below me helps make running easier and less energy consuming.

Pushing the door open to be greeted by sight of the clinic staff... And Mei. They look at me as though they're looking at a dying person stranded in the desert, do I look that awful right now?

I'm not giving them the time speak, I should explain the situation immediately.

"Yuta's fine, I need the stretcher now, there's someone in need of urgent attention".

I then turned to Shiori "Shiori! Pabrinex IV, HP one and two!". "Yes doctor!". I then turn to Mei "Go back home-" "-But I wanna see-" "NOW!".

"What's the patient's condition doctor?" Shiori asked me "The patient has shallow to deep wounds, all a result of being attacked by... A wolf". I couldn't dare say five, at least not right now.

"Is the patient in pain?" Shiori asked again. "Severe, but they're also covered in blood, so they need to be cleaned first". "Doctor we don't have pain killers for such a condition" Came the reply from Momoka. "Then use Methadol HCL ten". Whatever we can use. It's enraging how we're out of painkillers for severe pain, Methadol is the strongest we have.

"Doctor we don't have Polyvidone-iodine for the wounds, or Tetanus vaccine for wounds under risk of infection" Damn it, I guess we only have the alternative method. I turn to Momoka "Momoka, boil water, prepare a soap bar, and plenty of towels. Once we clean the body and wounds, we'll use Saline to irrigate the wounds. Once we're done with that, we'll need to apply local anesthetic, we have Lidocaine one percent concentration".

"Without Epinephrine doctor?" Momoka asks, and I nod in reply. "We're going to surgically remove any and all dead tissue, then damp the clean and dry wounds with Saline again, and finally apply the dressing". Shiori is seen dragging the stretcher to the reception room, Airi looks both scared and lost... Mei looks excited.

"What's the solution needed for the IV?" "Gluc5%-NaCl0.9%".

"The patient's approximate age". This one is tough. "Possibly between fourteen and sixteen".

"What's the patient's sex". Oh come on. "... Maybe male". "Maybe?" Momoka cut me in. "Yes... Maybe".

"So a boy that looks like a girl, or a girl that looks like a boy?" My daughter's attempt at humor is too out of context for this situation. "Take Airi and go home" I glared at her. "... No!" I can't argue with her sometimes.

"... So. I take it by the time the patient is sedated we'll inject... Him, with Epinephrine" Momoka begins to ask again. "Yes.. This whole procedure will keep us occupied for at least ten hours. The patient's heartbeat and blood pressure needs to be... Monitored.." Damn it. They are a different species all together, what is a normal heartbeat and blood pressure for them anyways?

They probably have a blood pressure lower than that of a human. I'll have to consider his heart beat to be lower as well, maybe somewhere between forty to fifty when resting.

"Momoka... We'll need to take samples- And we have a mouth wash with three percent alcohol concentration right?". Good thing I shushed my... Shiroi looks suspicious.

"What's really happened Ryuga". Whenever Shiori calls me by my first name, she knows that something is off. I have to give a vague explanation now it seems.

I pause a bit, trying my best to put the right words together. "Shiori... Everyone. What I'm about to bring in is vastly more different than what you might expect". Everyone looks confused now. I guess being vague is stupid.

"The patient... They're different". "Different how Ryuga?".

"... Whatever happens. Do not freak out, and do not contact anybody, nor tell anyone you know anything concerning what you're about to see, and Airi" The girl looks at me. "Please, and I mean it please. Do not panic when you see them. And Mei" Now my daughter beams at me. "Call your mother and tell her you're staying-" "-Yay!-" "-Make yourself useful and start helping Momoka".

I took the stretcher from Shiori and left wordlessly.

* * *

It took me and Yuta several minutes to adjust this unidentified creature on the stretcher. Yuta explained to me that he sustained a minor injury from them when they wanted to take Yuta's shirt off.

What I found to be most astonishing as we were heading back, is the transition Yuta told me this creature went through. At first it was nothing short of a vicious animal, they even stalked, and killed a human before dragging the body away to eat from it. Yuta told me that he no choice but to hide from it.

When Yuta told me how they approached him I was disturbed myself, but then Yuta told me something beyond belief. While Yuta was speaking to himself, this creature caught on the words he said, and even managed to distinguish some of their meanings, not only that, but they managed to speak, albeit poorly, a word, then another all while understanding what the word 'you' means.

The creature grew curious and wanted to see and feel Yuta's bare chest, he doesn't understand why, but Yuta told him that they squeezed his wrist tightly in order to make him oblige and take his shirt off. The creature also set it neatly to the ground.

Yuta told me that he nearly felt his own heart stop when they began to touch his skin and rub his shoulders. The creature then rested their head on the crook of his neck, and let one palm rest over his heart.

The big surprise is what happened when Yuta started crying out of fear, this creature, wiped away Yuta's tears then spoke a sentence 'you spoke me' they said. Yuta didn't understand what they meant at first, but then he told me that the creature just wanted to speak with him as they verified using both words and sign language.

Yuta told me that he used the opportunity of their unfathomable learning and comprehension skills to convince them to let him go, but they refused because the wolves might try to kill and eat Yuta after Yuta explained to them what pain and death are.

They even said that they no longer have the intention of killing Yuta, and intended on keeping him safe until the wolves go away.

How did they grow from a wild animal to a sentient being in such a short period of time? Was Yuta the first human being they interacted with? If they can learn and understand speech with ease, then I can easily try to teach them the concepts of civilized intelligent life.

It makes sense that this creature would come from NGL, those crazy Neo-Luddits probably ran at the sight of the Magical Beasts there without any attempts at observing the behavior of those more intelligent animals. This might explain why they ate a human like any large wild animal would do if given the chance, and yet they were fully capable of forming social interactions with one.

I'll just have to convince them to stop eating or even killing humans for whatever the reason may be, and try and see how much I can learn about them, and howmuch can they learn.

* * *

We knock at the door, and the door opens to be greeted by Shiori, we rush in with the... Patient, and now he's visible for the whole crowd to see.

" **Ryuga! What is THAT!?"** Shiori shouts with a screech, her face is a mixture of shock and horror. Yuta snorts at this.

"Dear heavens.." Momoka seems to be taking this better.

Airi walks into the room. " **Ayeeeeee! Hah-aha a Monster!"** She literally collapses and crawls to the wall.

" **Cool dad! Where did you find him?"** And Mei is just being Mei.

Well that went better than I expected.

"Is the emergency room ready?" I disregard their reactions and focus on what's important. Momoka replies that it's ready, and Shiori regains composure, but I can see that she's displeased by this.

"Mei help Airi recover, and tell her there's nothing to worry about". My daughter looks at me "He's tame then right?"... I don't know what to say "Yes they are, just as long as you don't act frightened around them" I was about to speak but Yuta spoke on my behalf.

"Alright, Momoka, Shiori, they need to be bathed first, let's take them to the patients showers and wash the blood and dirt off of them". "Yes doctor" Came the dual reply from both Momoka and Shiori.

I allow Yuta to rest and tell him to take a shower at Shiori's bathroom, he's too dirty himself, and his wrist is in no shape for any precise operative movements at the moment. He agrees without any objections.

This is going to be a long night, none of us are going to have any rest until they wake up next morning.

* * *

Author's Notes: One heck of a roller coaster of a chapter this was. I hope I got the science right, the fight scene right, and most importantly I hope that no one receives any bad dreams from that gory scene.

Hey at least the next chapter will be a lighthearted one!

See you all on the next chapter, and here's Yuta's concept art link: ( /a/Bk3ef add imgur . com before the link).


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

(Edited major mistake I made, should of checked the chapter more thoroughly)

Author's Notes: Remember when I said that this chapter is going to be heartwarming?... Change of plan, this chapter will be placed before the breather chapter. Hey! I said that this is going to be a depressing fic, tragedy in the genre, as clear as crystal.

Some major BS in the Hunter X Hunter universe:

The dark continent. The dramatic stretch for its size is impossible, no planet that can harbor and support such complex life can be that massive, its straight up a no-no in terms of planetary science.

First off, the size continents shown in HxH, and the population density can give us an idea of how much surface they are going to take, and for a planet to be an earth like planet, it needs to have between: 90% and 125% earth radius. Let's suppose that the known continents can be fitted on the moon, and that that is the so called 10% of the 'known world' in HxH.

The moon has only 27% of earths diameter, and for the HxH planet with the supposed massive dark continent, that would be only 10%. Let's do the math!

27/100 X 10/? = (approximately) 37

That's 370% earth diameter (185% earth radii) . This planet would have an atmosphere too dense, gravity too strong, and surface temperature too damn high to harbor any form of complex life. Hell, it wouldn't even be rocky.

So the dark continent is BS. What's the alternative in this AU? A single unexplored continent smaller than South America.

Disclaimer: I don't own HxH, if I did, the dark continent expedition arc wouldn't be so bafflingly stupid.

* * *

 **Eight a.m, Shinyoju Forest:**

 **Two men, standing before a makeshift gravesite in Shinyoju Forest. The front grave has been restored from its disturbance the night before. The older man is gazing upon the now restored grave with solemnity.**

 **The younger man breaks the long and sorrowful silence. "Well, we've confirmed it". The other remains his gaze upon the grave. "Good thing we convinced those bloody twats to actually gather the bodies and bury them". The older man continues to gaze at the grave.**

 **The younger man continues with his tirade "At least now we've managed to convince that sparkling dickhead that he's dead, but he ain't dead" He paused before smirking to himself. "The bastards all think he's dead, while we're the only ones who know he isn't. We've got the upper hand now, SAGE will have to be informed eventually, but the remaining wankers are out of the picture".**

 **"Then we have to monitor him starting now" The older replied distantly, before adding "SAGE are enraged by now, they believe that they've lost to Paristion and UMILS". The younger snorts. "Pariston? He's a bloody joke. UMILS will let him have his fun, or in actuality, let him believe that he's having fun. Once they no longer see any use of him, he's a dead man" He then adds "Although I believe that they'll let him have his imaginary fun for a while. This is going piss off SAGE big time".**

 **Sighing, the older man spoke "UMILS are going to let him have his way for about two years, maybe less, and then they'll kill him. He's a nuisance from the start". The younger replied "Oh please! Sparkly's there just to stir chaos in the Munter's Association". The older ignores the immature insult before speaking " We should only inform the boss". The other nods.**

 **"Let's go, he's probably starving". The older announces before giving one last considerate look upon the grave site. The younger catches upon this and says "Cute story huh? Never saw that coming". The older man's eyes shine with something akin to sorrow for a moment, and then speaks "She gave us the chance to have the upper hand. We may not have to worry about the alternative plan, nor the standard plan, and it's all thanks to her".**

 **The younger man replies " This confirms that he's sentient, he's capable of forming mutal bonds with humans, making him easy to tame". The older now stands and nods to the younger. "Which means we're going to have to find a bait for both him and one of our candidates".**

 **As they leave the grave site, the older narrowly looks at the grave site again, but it was brief, for he follows the younger immediately. The graves remain in the peaceful forest of Shinyoju, housing four deceased individuals.**

* * *

 **1:12 p.m: Matsunoki Village.**

 **The duo casually start a deliberate conversation next to a specific individual. "Did you hear that the rich kid from that isolated clinic is staying around longer?" The younger man is uncomfortable about speaking a very foreign language, but those words are doing their work as the individual leans closer from where he's standing, seemingly intrigued by the topic the duo are sharing.**

 **" I see the kid hanging in the forest around two in the afternoon from time to time, it's Monday today, so he'll probably be out soon" The older replies while fully aware of how interested the peeping individual is now. They seemed to have caught their bait. Only the time to use him now remains.**

 **"He likes to hang around a sheer drop around a two kilometers ahead of the clinic in Shinyoju forest". The younger man can barely contain his glee, that individual, a thief, is going after one of their candidates today, he muses over how gullible the man is. They'll use his distractions to draw the ant king towards him.**

 **A thief is a good choice for the duo to use as bait. He will be reckless, and ignorant of his surroundings in a calm remote forest where there is no one to observe him. Also, even if his body was to be found, this specific thief they chose is already a registered culprit. This is going to be too easy the younger thinks. And this is going to be a difficult choice to live with the older dreads.**

* * *

 **3:08 p.m Shinyoju Forest:**

 **It took the duo a lot of concentration and caution to pull this through. First off they made sure that the man would go after the pre-med student about ten minutes post his departure into the forest. From there, they had to keep the man separate from the student by having the younger man cause distraction from afar to convince the man that he's following the student's direction.**

 **The older man has taken it upon him to locate the ant king and lure him towards the target with a little bit of help of his younger partner. The older man has been patiently shadowing the king from above on the long thick branches of the tall trees.**

 **Nearly an hour has passed, with the younger man stalling the young man, their target, from reaching the student, one of their candidates, before the ant king reaches him.**

 **Their target finally reaches the sheer drop after several minutes, with the ant king stalking him from behind like a tiger patiently stalking its prey in a jungle. The older man would have found this to be interesting if it wasn't for the fact that the prey is a stranger they chose simply because no one will bother to look for him.**

 **From afar, the older man can see the younger man on standing on a tree branch with is back leaning on the tree trunk with his eyes gleaming in eagerness. It will be less than two minutes now. The older man throws a pine cone down a slope on the left side of the sheer drop causing their target to turn his attention to the left to see if their candidate is there.**

 **This causes the ant king to take advantage of the target's sudden distraction. It took less than a minute. The target never had the chance to register what was happening before his neck was snapped by the ant king. The older man almost felt contrition, more at the fact that the younger man was now grinning fiendishly, than at the fact that this stranger's life has been cut short.**

 **Watching the ant king drag the body away, the duo followed the ant king's location a few meters ahead. The older man recalls why were they ordered to kill someone of least concern to society. The order was to see if the king will revert to a primal state after speculating that his episodic and semantic memory would be impeded dramatically due to the high possibility of the ant king to suffer from retrograde amnesia.**

 **If the king reverts to a primal state after eating the human's body, then they'll have to go back to the standard plan. This is all a test. The duo watch as the ant king rips the sleeve and sinks his teeth in the body. The hum that escaped the ant king's lips made the older man feel a little repulsed.**

 **Some time passes during the ant king's feeding. The older man can't take his eyes away from the scene as awful as it is, much like one would if they witnessed a gruesome car crash, one will watch it unwittingly.**

 **Standing on the branch of another tree, the younger man was using a pair of binoculars fastened around his neck to further observe the imagery below them. The younger man is as fascinated as a child dropping a bug in a spider's web so they can watch the spider wrap them in silk.**

 **Eventually the older man had to look away when the ant king cut the dead man's chest open, the older man can clearly hear the sound of the ribcage bones getting broken, followed by the gurgling sound of what the older man assumes to be the ant king diving his hands within the chest cavity of the dead man.**

 **The older man almost flinched when he made the mistake of looking at his partner. The younger man looks overjoyed by the sight of a man being dissected and eaten, making the older man leave a mental note to himself to have a word with the younger man once this test is over.**

* * *

 **A thread of hope was weaved as the duo watched the ant king express some kind of self aware behavior as he visually studied the dead body while he was eating the liver of the dead man, and now he's been eating at the left arm albeit, more dignifiedly.**

 **After nearly an hour, the ant king finally finished feasting on the body, and is now moving away. Quickly, the younger man stealthily climbs down the tree, and kicks the dried leaves from behind the forest scrubs in order to catch the and king's attention to the large boulder where one of their candidates is hiding at, and climbing the tree immediately after in order to avoid being spotted.**

 **Now the truly stressful part of their test begins. Will the ant king kill the candidate or not. If the ant king killed him, they'll have to abort the mission and sedate the ant king, if the ant king doesn't kill him, then the mission will continue like they hope it will.**

 **They watch as the ant king begins his approach, they can sense something twisted about the approach. Even though the ant king most likely forgot about his aura, and thereby is currently incapable of using it, they can still feel something lethal about the way he's moving towards their candidate. Perhaps all is lost.**

"You're going to kill me aren't you"

 **Their candidate began to mumble, and they both took notice of the ant king's staggered expression. The ant king then shoves their candidate with his tail, and their candidate pushes the tail away.**

"Why don't you just do it already"

 **What the ant king did next helped the duo cling onto that fragile thread of hope once more, for the king decided to sit down next to their candidate and touched their cheek in a non violent manner.**

 **Their candidate then turned to the ant king and said in a desperate tone.**

"You don't understand me, don't you"

 **Studying the ant king's expression, they found him to be in deep thought, a sign of cognitive thinking the older speculates, and hope for the mission to end is success the younger internally pleads.**

 _"Yeou"_

 **The ant king is capable of using reasoning skills, the damage isn't as severe as they feared then. But now, they must see if the ant king is capable of displaying sentimentality, learning, and applying knowledge in the complex social behavior humans practice.**

"You spoke!?"

 _"S-s-spook"_

 **The older man tenses at the ant king begins to tug at their candidate's shirt. Their candidate tries to stop the ant king by tightening his hold around himself. The ant king responds by trying to pry the candidate's arms apart, but he is faced with resistance.**

 **Smiling to himself, the young man finds great amusement in knowing what the ant king is about to do when he grips at the student's left wrist while tugging the man's shirt up.**

 **""Ahhha! Stop it, please stop!""**

 **A pervasive smile formed on the younger man's feature upon hearing their candidate howl in pain, even after the ant king did stop, and even though the ant king was careful not to cause any damage to their candidate the younger man was only concerned about his own amusement. It was only until the older sent him a condescending glare that he came out of his amoral sense of amusement, and sent his partner a sort of apologetic nod.**

 **Focusing on what's important, the older man feels a little relived to know that the ant king has given their candidate some time to tend to his wrist, before tugging at his shirt in a more civil manner while addressing him.**

 **The ant king removes their candidate's shirt and sets it on the ground neatly, and then began to rub and stroke their candidate's shoulders gently. The older man takes it that ant king is beginning to show signs of sentimentality when he placed a hand over the candidate's heart, and rested his cheek at their candidate's neck. The younger man meanwhile felt like whistling.**

 **Tears trickle from their candidate's eyes onto the ant king's head causing him to look confused. The older man almost smiled when the ant king began to wipe away their candidate's tears, perhaps the ant king still retains some of his social behavior- some of the personality that he developed thanks to that girl.**

 **Maybe his semantic memory isn't as hindered as they feared, but there's a long way to go for his episodic memory to recover.**

 _"Yeou.. Spoak. M-mme"._

"You, what are you trying to say?"

 **Finally, the ant king shows effective reasoning as he explains to their candidate his intentions using both words and basic sign language.**

"You... Want to talk to me?"

 _"M-me. Jus, wan-nt to. Tallk eth you"_

 **The duo exchanged glances, both look contented to know that their mission won't be aborted. They have what they need, the ant king is sentient and capable of expression and social interactions.**

 _"Peleaze"_

"You! HURT! Me!"

"You'll kill and eat me won't you!?"

 **Their candidate then holds the ant king's hand, and walk him near the location of the dead man's carcass. While pointing his hand to the ant king's tail, addressing him, then their candidate makes a mock chop at his neck and saying 'killed' followed by balling his hand into a fist 'and ate him' their candidate angrily states.**

 **What will the ant king's reaction will be like the duo wonder.**

 _"M-me stop want. Kel nd eet you. Me jus want to talk to, you"._

 **Whatever it is that the older man is feeling right now, it is surly relief, and contentment. The ant king is regaining self awareness much faster than he had anticipated. He turns to the younger man, and he can see that his partner also looks glad that they have their best case scenario is close to hand.**

 **Their candidate proceeds to argue with the ant king, explaining to him in simplified terms using sign language and slowly spoken words again, that he wants to go back before dark.**

 **Curiously looking at him, the ant king just casually walks him back to the base of the boulder, and sits their candidate down next to him. The ant king then wraps his tail around their candidate's ankle.**

 **While there is no cellular network or reception here, their phones can exchange messages via a Bluetooth chat application. Both of their phones are on silent without a vibe sound mode enabled, but the older man knows that the younger man has sent him a message since his partner is holding his phone while glancing at his pocket, grinning childishly.**

 **** You see that mate? His majesty is wrapping his 'tail' around a shirtless lad. God save the king XD****

 **His partner is an idiot at times the older thinks sadly to himself, and just looks at his partner disapprovingly.**

 **** JK, his highness is a baby, he doesn't get to be so 'randy' yet does he XD****

 **His partner sent him this message soon after the first. By now the ant king had informed their candidate that he can't go away because of the dark. The man throws an outburst at the ant king, but the ant king replies with.**

 _"You go, woooo kel nd et you"_

 **The older man admires the ant king's consideration towards their candidate.**

"Woo? You mean the wolves? You just ate a human being! The guy was just standing there and you broke his neck, dragged him away and started mauling his body! Yet you want me to stay with you? What are you saving me for yourself!?"

 **Their candidate spoke too fast for the ant king to register what was spoken.**

 _"Mme cann't un- un... unda s-s-stan wat you jus spoke"_

 **The older man smiled, and the younger man barely managed to contain the chuckle that almost escaped his throat at the ant king's innocent, and rather adorable way he made his statement. The ant king is a child after all, a mere fifty two day old in the body of the human equivalent of a barely fifteen year old boy.**

 **The ant king rests his head against their candidate, and falls asleep shortly after. Upon doing so, the younger man departs and head to the clinic.**

 **If one of their candidates attempts to call the authorities. The younger man will kill the candidates, save for the older woman named Momoka and the new girl.**

 **However, if their candidates decide to search for the man named Yuta by themselves, something that the duo had studied about the staff based on their history during their college days and from commentaries their comrades had acquired from the clinic staff's classmates and professors, then the younger man will follow him in order to protect him.**

* * *

 **Spying on the doctor named Ryuga Takada was an easy task for the younger man to do, however this adds nothing to the duo's chances of succeeding mission zero, they have to rely solely on the clinic's decision of what to do with the ant king.**

 **If they chose to report him, the younger man will kill both Ryuga and Yuta. If they chose to take him in only for the purpose of helping him recover, then the mission will be considered a failure. They have to keep him for a while to examine and study his physiology.**

 **Hell not only that the younger man thinks, but also constant weight checkups, blood, urine, and semen examinations for all general purposes. Adding to that, DNA analysis, and most importantly, the ant king's immune system needs to be studied extensively.**

 **They need the data more than anything else, and if they failed to both acquire it and keep the ant king safe, then both the older and younger man will kill themselves for failing the duty they spent so many years of their lives preparing for.**

 **Snapping out of his thoughts, the younger man is now much more focused on the doctor who has just reached the sheer drop and noticed the drag marks. The doctor began to follow the marks, and the younger man watched him silently from the thick tree branches in this dark night.**

 **The doctor begins to discern blood splatter, torn cloths, and-**

"OH MY GOD!"

 **-The dead man's partially eaten corpse. His partner must of heard the doctor as well the younger thinks. While the doctor was awestruck, and understandably, horrified by the sight before him, the younger man heard a sound that made him groan in aggravation. The candidate Yuta has called out for the doctor and the doctor called back, loudly to add.**

 **'The fucktards are too damn loud, do they have a bloody death wish?' The younger man thinks in rage, for their candidates may end up dragging the wolves right to their location. He follows the doctor who's now about to see the ant king. The younger man perched himself on a different branch from the same tree his partner is standing on. The duo wait.**

 **They can, thanks to the doctor's flashlight, that the ant king is looking a little too aggressive. The duo look around them, and the older man noticed a wolf standing atop of the boulder, while the younger man finds one bellow the tree, the younger man texts the older.**

 **** What should we do mate?****

 ****Wait and see, if things get out of hand, then we'll interfere****

 **During a short one sided argument between the doctor and the ant king the duo text once again.**

 ****Are you fucking serious mate? He's been in a state of Chemobiosis for eleven fucking days!****

 ****We're going to see how his balance, strength, and critical thinking would fare in a situation like this. He's been awake for nearly a whole day now. If anything happens, we'll interfere without his notice****

 _"YOU, GO WAY, NOW"_

 _"DON GO AND ME KEL YOU WOOVES!"_

 **It all happens in a few seconds. The ant king lunges forward, and so does the two wolves, the one below the tree and the one atop the boulder.**

 **His reaction time was fast the duo notified, the ant king used the spicule at the end of his tail to cut the top wolf's belly open which kills it. However the ant king is now pinned to the ground as his forearm was bitten by the other wolf.**

 **To make matters worse, two wolves attack the ant king ant bite his tail, one at the fifth segment and the other at the eighth. The older man's face is petrified and the younger man felt himself flinch as the ant king let out a pained squeal.**

 **Fear stricken due to the sensitivity of the bites locations, and the critical danger the ant king is now in. If the doctor doesn't take the ant king in, the ant king will die long before they can take him to their comrades. In that case they'll have no choice but to reveal themselves to convince the doctor to help the ant king. The duo are now at a loss.**

 **Even though the ant king managed to kill the wolf biting his forearm, there is nothing he can do against the two biting at his tail. And matters are much worse once the duo realized that there are three other wolves ahead.**

 **Out of concern for the ant king's life, the younger man reached for his weapon- only to stop in shock from witnessing the doctor point the flash light at the two wolves eyes, causing the two wolves to stagger away from the ant king.**

 **The wolves were about to attack the ant king again, in spite of this, the ant king managed to get up, dash back some distance, duck, and deliver a front kick below the jaw of one of the attacking wolves.**

 **This did not protect the king from the other wolf, as the other wolf has now bitten his shoulder causing him to stumble and fall on his severely injured tail, doing much to the duos dread in the process.**

 **Before they know it, the doctor flashed the light on the wolf again, giving the ant king the opportunity to wring the wolf's neck. Now that five wolves are dead, the remaining three wolves make their escape rather than fight.**

 _Ugggh"_

 _"Ugghh"_

 **The ant king is struggling, and their candidates are soon going to conclude what to with him. If they decide to leave him, the duo will make them help him by force, they cannot afford to lose him.**

"Yuta... Look at his blood". "Yeah, I can see it too. It's blue isn't it."

 **'No fucking shite' the younger man thinks.**

"... I can hardly believe it's true, so the conspiracy theorists aren't basing bullshit are they doctor?". "Yuta. Stay here with them for a bit". "Wait what!?"

 **'...'**

"I'm going back to get the stretcher, you make sure they're in a more stable state by the time I arrive-". "-Doctor they're the one who killed that man!". "It does seem obvious by now Yuta, I just don't want to waste this opportunity _._ We're going to study it".

 **Are they going to dissect him or help him recover!? Immediately the duo exchanged texts.**

 ****What now! What exactly does he plan to do?****

 ****I'll follow him and listen to what he has to say to the clinic staff, you stay here and wait for me to come back****

 ****Rojo, what if they'll try to dissect him!?****

 ****They won't. Trust me Azul. Wait here****

"Stay here okay?". "... Yes doctor".

 **The older man, Rojo left to follow the doctor who is now running back to the clinic. The younger man, Azul stays behind and now looks upon the ant king and the pre-med student, Yuta.**

 **Azul noticed that Yuta began to rub circles on the ant king's unharmed shoulder in an effort to calm him down. Taking into account how pained the ant king is, Azul decides to help him if only a little.**

 **Azul reaches for the tranquilizer gun designed specifically for sedating the ant king, and selects a thin dart needle with the least powerful and potent agent. The gun shot is soundless, and the needle is too thin to notice as Azul managed to aim and shoot it in the ant king's fifth segment of his tail.**

 **The needle will dissolve with the agent leaving no trace of its presence. The drug will help the ant king fall asleep, that's the only thing Azul can currently do to help the ant king, but it's still something he assured himself. He half smiled when the ant king leaned his back against Yuta. Azul's current repressed mood prevented him from thinking of anything daft.**

"You... You won't kill us right?".

 _"M-mme... Stop, hewrt... nd. Kel you" "M-mme, jus wan, tak"._

 **The ant king slowly begins to drift to sleep as the drug takes effect, and Azul patiently waits for Rojo's return.**

* * *

 **Rojo is now following the doctor as he hurries back to the boulder site with the stretcher in both hands. Everything has gone just as he had hoped. The clinic staff will help the ant king make full recovery, although, Rojo is concerned about how the staff will react, particularly the girl named Airi.**

 **He can assure Azul, once he's in range of signal with him, that the ant king is going to be safe. Still the problem remains with what Airi's reaction may be, she mustn't tell anyone about what she's going to see.**

 **The connection picks up Azul's phone. Rojo begins to text as he follows the doctor without his notice.**

 ****Azul, they'll help him and keep him under surveillance till he recovers. One prob, Airi the new kid, might overreact****

 **He waits a bit for Azul's reply.**

 **** I don't give a fuck about what the tyke thinks as long as she doesn't open her yap****

 ****You'd kill her!?****

 ****THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I AM MATE!?****

 ****Sorry..****

 ****.. They'll help him and keep him right?****

 ****I'm not sure about the ladder, we'll have to see for ourselves****

 ****So you set the cams and wires mate?****

 ****Yes****

 **** 3 U mate!****

 **** I'll be seeing you in a minute, the doctor is nearly there****

 ****Rad****

 **It doesn't take long before Rojo reaches Azul, and the doctor is now trying to support the ant king's body on the stretcher without putting him in any more pain, or dangerous positions.**

 **The Doctor and Yuta begin to carry the ant king on the stretcher. The duo know that the dead man's body will be eaten either ways, they did send another wolf pack to this section of the forest three nights ago. Just in case, the duo had thought at the time. Now authorities might believe that the feud took place between wolf packs they hoped.**

 **Even though the method in which the wolves died will seem suspicious, the fact that the partially eaten man will be mauled by the other wolf pack will help cover up any major skepticism.**

 **Rojo stopped at a tree near the one where the dead man's body is, and clasped his hands while lowering his head. 'I'm sorry' he apologized in his mind. Azul motions for Rojo to hurry along, ignoring the body.**

* * *

 **David Andrews and his team have done a wonderful job the duo admits. They have successfully installed hidden mics and cams in every room of the clinic, and Rojo had set other cameras and mics on the clinic's exterior. All that's left is for Azul to set the remaining ones in the doctor's house now since there is no one there besides his sleeping wife at the time being. Rojo meanwhile spies on the clinic.**

"Alright, Momoka, Shiori, they need to be bathed first, let's take them to the patients showers and wash the blood and dirt off of them". "Yes doctor"

 **It's confirmed now that the clinic staff will take care of the ant king, but Rojo doesn't intend to give out the word of their success until the ant king is in a stable condition, and then, and only then, will Rojo and his partner announce the beginning of phase one.**

* * *

Author's Notes: You didn't see that coming eh!? I swear I feel like a troll!

Who are Rojo and Azul? UMILS and SAGE? Well it's going to be a while before it'll be revealed (for UMILS and SAGE only I admit).

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry no concept art this chapter, but there will be two at the next one, and even though I don't want to be that person... A review would be nice, I honestly would like to know people's opinions on this bizarre fanfic.

See you on the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter:5

A/N: Yay! Chapter five is finally complete!... That was dumb, I'm rarely that enthusiastic. Anyways, this chapter is mostly a breather chapter prior returning to- or more precisely, starting with the main plot. First and probably last heartwarming chapter folks!

Oh! And by the way, if you are grossed out by any biological descriptions, then you may dislike reading the first part of this chapter. I highly recommend that no one under the age of fourteen should read this fanfic anyways, it's going to be very confusing for anyone below that age.

Now about some things in HxH:

In the 1999 anime, the date when Gon and Killua entered the Heavens Arena was on September. Assuming the Hunter's Exam took place in late summer, then counting the time skips up until the end of the 13th Chairman Election Arc, it's around December.

(yes I'm using 365 day with 24 hours a day. This is something along with anthropology that I'm not going to play with, because coming up with a different planet's rotation speed per day is hell. Anthropology because creating a fictional global culture is also hell).

Since the Mitene Union is in the southern hemisphere, it's currently summer there. Because of this, Airi's birthday date s going to change in chapter two.

I wish I had figured this out earlier, but then again many anime/manga suffer from the eternal spring trope.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter, Hunter X Hunter belongs to Togashi ((Currently playing Dragon Quest)).

* * *

Tuesday, 9:27 a.m, The Clinic:

The creature has been stable and fast asleep for well over five hours now. Blood samples, and saliva samples are already stored in the freezer at about two degrees Celsius.

Amazingly, this creature's body has made progress in recovering, the near equivalent of a week worth of rest and surveillance under constant medical attention. The wounds have been cleaned and dressed, no signs of infection so far, probably none will show up.

We changed the dressings earlier, his forearm has healed completely. The wounded shoulder is making incredible progress by already reaching the remodeling phase which at their current recovery rate, will be healed by tomorrow.

Their tail however. The fifth segment was very swollen for three hours, even though the swelling has eased out slightly, the wounds need to be constantly cleaned and dressed again. While it is an amazing feat that their tail are at the end of the inflammation phase, it doesn't mean that the creature won't be in of pain when he wakes up.

Judging from observation after they've become stable. They lack any exposed sexual gentiles, there is literally nothing exposed out of their pelvic area. Their body is confusing, they look so close to resembling a human in terms of their physiology, particularly their face and jaw line. It's too human-like.

Well the creature does need to execrate fluids, and after some time thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that the syringe like extension at the end of their tail may serve that purpose. The tail itself is highly unusual, especially with its segmented structure. Apparently the fifth and eight segments are acting as separates from the tail, so perhaps each segment is adjoined by a joint maybe?

The tail is bony as we speculated during the process of cutting away the dead tissue, but that still doesn't explain why it's segmented. I have a more crucial problem at hand now, if the creature does indeed urinate through the hollowed extension, then they're going to be in tremendous amounts of pain while doing so. I need to give them lots of fluids upon their awakening.

Speaking of what should be given to this creature upon its awakening. High protein, high calorie foods. Meats. Based on the amounts that... They have consumed last night. They're going to need at least three kilograms of meat. I asked Yuta to go buy half a kilogram of beef liver for its copper richness, and single kilogram of beef meat mixed with a little fat. Mei also went to get the half chicken we had in our fridge at home. I hope that's enough to satisfy their hunger until later this afternoon.

Still, what is this creature? I look upon them as they sleep soundly and begin to wonder to myself, are they really social, were they truly isolated? They ate a human in a gruesome manner, but then again, they look incredibly malnourished. Were they perhaps lost?

Momoka and Shiori are tending to the patients in the reception, meanwhile I've been here all the time in the emergency room. The doctor is occupied they told anyone who asked for me.

Airi... She had a hard time coping with this situation, that is if she's coping at all. For all I can say, it's a good thing Yuta has managed to convince her to keep quiet about this current situation we're all in now. She really did go through a panic attack, we had to give her something her temperature after it rose too high. I knew she'd be afraid, but not to that extent, she isn't even doing anything at the moment.

She's sitting on the furthest chair in the emergency room, staring at the creature as though she's staring into an abyss. Why is she that fixated on her paranoia about a conspiracy theory twisted too far off? It's literally just about new kinds of animals being discovered, why are so many people willing to twist news stories into conspiracies and idiocy?

The only person to make a reasonable suggestion on what to do upon their awakening came from my daughter. She told me that she's going to get her old elementary school text books from the attic in order to show them the pictures and tell them the names of what's depicted in those pictures.

What if her plan wouldn't work though, I'm not sure if they're going to react violently or not. I look through the open window and gaze upon the meadow where only a single house resides. I hope Haruka takes the news well.

 _'ueh.. huehh'_

They're groaning again. "Doctor it's opening its eyes!" What did Airi say!? I turn around and see the truth in her words, their eyes are half open as they try to bare the pain. "Bring in Yuta and Shiori, and the two bottles of water now Airi!".

Despite how critical this is, I'm afraid to get to close to them in case they lashed out. It's best to allow them to make sense of their surroundings first before approaching them all of a sudden.

By the time Shiori, Yuta, Airi, and unfortunately, Mei arrived the creature's eyes are wide awake, and they're scanning the room. I can see the pained expression on their face, their right eye half closes as they squint in pain due to the inflammation in their... Tail.

Slowly, and very carefully I move towards them with one bottle in hand. The rest of the folk in this room are staying as far as they can form them, even Mei is being cautious and that's saying something about my twelve year-old over energetic child.

They notice me but don't make any sort of reaction to my presence. Upon standing mext to them, I crouch to their level, now they look at me. Holding up the bottle I say "water" hoping that they would make sense of what I'm trying to tell them.

They tried to speak, but only a dry cough came out of their throat. Acting on instinct and the many years I've spent in my profession, I use my free hand to lift their back a little and stroke their back. The fabric they were wearing was shredded, we had to remove it. Ignoring the idle thought I lift the water bottle close to their jaw.

"Water. Drink it" I instructed them, and they did indeed respond by leaning towards the opened cap of the bottle. I help them by pressing the bottle at their lips, they open their mouth a little and I tip the bottle while keeping both the bottle and their back supported. They begin to drink bit by bit, taking time between each swallow to breathe.

After downing half the bottle they closed their mouth shut and turned away a little from the bottle with a pained expression. They were about to touch their tail with their hand, but I stopped them by clasping the hand "Your tail" I said while looking at their tail and back at them "is very injured" I pointed at the fifth segment "Your shoulder, is a little injured" This time I pointed at their injured shoulder silently begging that they would understand what I'm trying to tell them.

 _"H-h-hewrt"_

"I know, try to calm down. It's going to be all right" I tried to sound as assuring as possible to make sure that they at understand me through both words and tone of sound. They point at their eight segment _"V-v-verry h-h-ewrt"_ then they point at their fifth _"V-v-erry Verry h-hwert"_.

Despite the monstrosity they've displayed last night, I can't help but feel a little sorry for them. How did they even get here? Where are, and are there any others of their kind? Are they perhaps lost or displaced?

I point at their recovered forearm "Your forearm has healed" Then at their injured shoulder "Your shoulder is healing" And finally at their tail "Your tail has begun to heal". They look at me with sad expression.

 _"Y-you don hewt me... You heeel nd heeelin me"_

 _"I hewt... Uta, nd Uta nd you heel me"_

... Are they... Expressing remorse? I was not expecting something like this at all. I can hear the shocked murmurs coming from Yuta, most likely due to the fact that they've managed to remember his name.

I was about to speak again as I encouraged them to drink again, however Mei just decided to rush towards this... I don't know.

"I'm Mei! I like the outdoors and forests too, do you like the forest? Heh, of course you did show up there! By the way are you an alien?"

Yuta couldn't contain himself, he began to chuckle. The creature looked at her and blinked several times.

 _"Ai Mei. M-me don undestan wat you spoke me. Me don wan to eat you. M-me tak. Mei verry woove"._

"Umm, can someone translate?" Seriously Mei? "They acknowledge your name, but they don't understand you because you spoke so fast that you almost sounded like a wolf. Oh, and they don't want to eat you". I hope that explanation is good enough for my daughter.

As soon as they finished drinking Mei resumed to speak "So are you a boy or a girl?" They looked at her with confusion unsurprisingly, from that point she pointed at me "He is a man, his gender is male" She began slowly then went to Shiori and pointed at her "She is a woman, her gender is female" and now to Yuta "He is a young man, or older boy. His gender is male" And finally Airi "She is a girl, her gender is female".

She went back to them "So, what is your gender? And when addressing yourself, you begin with 'I', 'my', or 'I'm'". Well done Mei, now we'll see how they'll respond. They appear to pause, I take it they are trying to put together a coherent sentence.

 _"Iem a boy, Uta olda, I yang. my genda is male"_

Amazing. "Did they just form a near good sentence from hearing new words?" Yuta spoke before me. The creature looks puzzled all of a sudden.

 _"Wowds? Hear? Senence?"_

He's parroting new words now-

 _"I hear wowds, nd foam a snence to spoke with you"._

... Dear.. God... The- Just what?

 _" I-... Ugghaa!"_

They're tail is hurting again! "Shiori, Airi, and Me- you stay Mei, but you two please leave we'll take care of them for now". Shiori and Airi left wordlessly. I didn't bother telling Mei to leave because I know she'll protest.

They scan their surroundings looking for something... That's it! I fetch the sterilized bucket that I set in this room specifically to test my theory and place it on the steel cart besides the hospital bed they're resting on.

The cart is lower than the high bed, so it should be more comfortable for them, but I need to make them sit first. Slowly I lift their back and motion for them to 'move' their tail 'aside'. I have a feeling they now understand the two new words...

It's worth noting that they appear to understand what the purpose of the bucket it. They move their lower tail and lower the last segment towards the bucket. They look paled, they know that this is going to be very agonizing.

"Mei bring me clean cloth" They may have sweat glands on their smoother skin, I'll need to wipe away their sweat in order to keep their body temperature cool. A little leaks and that leak is followed by their pained moans and whimpers.

Upon getting the cloth from Mei I wipe away the beads of sweat that started to form off their face, neck, and back. This is going to be a very tiring process for them but they don't have any other choice. They continue despite the pain then stop to take deep inhales, their face looks anguished.

I continue to assure them as they try to relive their bladder at the price of an unforgiving pain. Asking Yuta for the second bottle a few seconds ago, I use the water to soak the cloth so I can cool their face and neck upon finishing. Finally they did, and they look drained from energy. I can't help but feel for them again as I wipe their face and neck with the wet cloth.

They tug at the cloth and look at me with tired eyes, do they want the cloth? Curious, I gave it to them. And now they tap at the bottle, I give it to them as well. What are- They are soaking the cloth some more now...

Astonishing. I really did not expect that. They just poured some water over their needle like extension and the last segment, then used the cloth to wipe it clean. This creature is far more intellectually progressive than I had previously expected.

They start to drink water from the bottle after discarding the cloth on the cart. "I hope this room isn't contaminated" Mei smartly remarks. "I hope he isn't carrying any fatal or new diseases, or you know, the reverse" and Yuta adds.

Both Yuta and Mei have a very good point, this creature likely came from a very isolated country, they could be carrying lethal pathogens. Maybe the reverse, we could end up making them sick with pathogens their immune system can't fight. It's a very dangerous risk I'm taking for I could end up killing them or infecting the country with new diseases.

"Mei wash your hands with soap thoroughly, then get both the meats and the books with the pictures, especially the one with pictures of animals" "Got it dad!"

I really want to see how they'll react to seeing red flesh again.

Mei returns and hands me the liver while she holds a book. I offer the liver to them and they reached their right hand, then stopped.

 _"I don eat you. Moav it way"_

They seem reluctant. "It's not human meat" I informed them while pointing at everyone in the room, myself included, and then to the meat. Mei looks puzzled but doesn't question my statement". I look at Mei "Show them a cow" She opens to a page depicting the image of a cow and moves closer to them.

"The liver, and red meat came from a cow" She slowly speaks to them as she points to the liver, the red meat placed on the cart, and finally the picture.

 _"Cow don tak laik euman?"_

"No, they don't. They're like the wolves and all other different animals" Yuta's reply was spot on.

 _"Is me a euman?"_

"..."

I... I really don't know how to answer that question. They're going to have many questions like this coming up in their minds...

I can either lie and tell them that they're a magical beast similar to humans, or tell them the truth that we have no idea what they are.

"We don't know who and what you are, but you seem to have the intellect of a human". I said every word slowly, I hope he takes this well.

Their eyes lower to the floor for a few seconds before taking the liver from my hand and start to bite into it without replying to what I had told them. They didn't take it so well, but it's better than lying to them and trying to fit in excuses that I can't find later.

They devour the half kilo of liver rather fast, then they grab the red meat and start to eat it. It's like they're deliberately avoiding the chance to ignite a new conversation. They're acting a little like Airi and I don't like it... Maybe, just maybe, they were attacked by humans before? I need to question them.

"Say... are there others-" I gesture to Yuta, Mei, and I "-Like you?".

They stop eating without warning, and stare ahead without focusing on anything. Their eyes look nearly as vacant as Airi's now... He puts the meat back on the tray and stares at the floor again... This doesn't feel right.

"... Kid-"

 _"-The otha all kill, don undastan wat kill the otha... Jus me now"_

 _"I... I wan to undatan what kill the otha... I jus cant... I not euman, I don no wha I ar... I don no wha otha ar... I don no... I jus no wha I hear new to spoak"_

 _"My-...!"_

... Their body is warmer than I thought it would be, or maybe that's just me. I can feel a tremor running up their spine so I stroke their back, and they return the gesture. I'm not even caring that their meat covered hands have made a mess of my white lab coat. I'm not sure why I decided to embrace a creature that can easily rip out my throat in moments.

Someone is stroking their shelled head, I look from the corner of my eye to see that it's Mei who's doing that... This cre-.. No, this kid, they can't remember anything about what happened to their kind, or maybe anything before yesterday. Is this post-traumatic amnesia, elective amnesia... Or is it retrograde amnesia?

If they're suffering from retrograde amnesia, then they may not be able to remember anything crucial about their personal life for a while, and since there is nothing they can familiarize with, it may take them a very long time to remember anything important.

Come to think about all of this, they do look very malnourished so maybe the man they found was all they could find in their critical state. They were too weak to run after fast animals, and they couldn't hunt at night because of the wolf pack... What a mess.

"It's going to be alright kid" _"Otha kill! I can't go bak to otha!"_

"I know.. I'm sorry kid".

I unwrap my arms from their back and so do they. They're eyes are tearing. They wipe away _"Wadar?"_ They're confused. "That's called tears, you cry tears when you are sad or hurt". Thanks Yuta.

 _"Sad?"_

They don't understand this word. Some words are a difficult for him to comprehend for now.

"Eat your food kid" And they oblige by holding the chunk of meat again, but they rest their head on my stomach as they continue to eat while Mei resumes stroking their head. We'll have to show them a picture of a hen next.

 _"You kill cow? You lik me! You kill woove too!"_

"Dad you wrestled with wolves? Awesome!" "I didn't, he did all the fighting" "How many?" "Five"

"You killed five wolves by yourself? You're awesome!"

They ignore her and continue to eat "Yuta as soon as they finish" "I'll get the water bucket, mop and bleach. Take the cart to Shiori so she can sterilize the items on it and take a sample, and finally bring something to clean them up from the grime on their body so I can leave after changing my gloves to help cover for Shiori. Got it doctor". He left after blubbering out the words.

Once everything is cleaned, Mei and I will teach them many words and phrases using the book, while simultaneously checking his wounds and changing the dressing. We'll keep this up until it's around four in the afternoon, then I'll start to truly question them. Haruka is going to wonder about how severe this patient's condition is. She has no Idea.

* * *

1:49 p.m:

The inflammation around their tail has subsided, which is an incredible feat I must say even though their tail is still damaged and healing, but their pain is easing out a lot. I can't use the Echocardiography until they've made full recovery. More importantly, I need to make sure to spend the next week taking extreme measurements for any possible infections either kinds might catch from each other.

I think now I can try asking them a question even if it's still early. After all, they have learned a staggering amounts of words and phrases in a little more than two hours.

"Kid" They look at me. Shiori is in the room now, Yuta is taking on her shift after she finished sterilizing some of the equipments.

 _"Yess docta?"_

By now they have a basic understanding of where they are. 'clinic' is where people get 'healed'. 'Doctor' is 'the best' at healing, 'student' is still learning, and 'nurse' is 'less' 'knowing' than a doctor.

"You say that you are a male. Prove it" Maybe now I can confirm their gender.

 _"Pwoove?"_ "It means show me how".

 _"Euoman male, has somethin down. I differen. My tail nd is it"_

.. That's what I expected, but it's still odd "Wait your tail your thingy?" Mei!

 _"No, tail is tail, jus the tail nd is"_ "You mean the thing at the end?" _"yes"_

 _"Mei boy to, mei can tel"._ I grin at this, then look at a very frustrated Mei, Shiroi let out a chuckle.

"I'm not a boy! I'm a girl!" _"No, Mei younga boy"_

"Mei is a girl under the fabric, but she looks like a boy because she is very young" Shiori tried to explain to th- him. _"bu younga girl in book ar diffrn, Mei look lik younga boy. Is Mei no undestan they gender?"_

I really couldn't contain myself from laughing at his comment!

"Hey! I'm not gender confused!"

 _"You ar"_ "You kinda are" Both the odd boy and Shiori tell Mei.

... This all nice. But I need to know more from them- him.

"Kid. Do you remember your name" 'remember' the act for recalling, 'name' a code to identify each individual person. They'r- he's a remarkable learner for understanding everything we told th.. Him so far.

 _"... I don wememba my name... I don wememba my ded kind name, nd face...'"_

The- he looks woeful all of a sudden. _"I jus wememba too night, too day go"_ The... He really is having trouble remembering anything, and he doesn't seem to recall anything further than two days and nights.

"What is the first thing you remember?" I give him some time to sort out his thoughts, this is going to be very difficult for him.

 _"... I was in eth with a female... a girl... I wemeba tha they ar a girl... She is ded, I was dieng... I wen out of the eth... thwe otha in eath to... all ded..."_

"... You were, buried!?"

 _"I don wemeba her face... I wan go back to her"_ Mei moves in to stroke his shelled head again... I just stare at him in disbelief.

"Kid... You can't go back she's d-" _"-I no she is!"_

What should I say to him? And how did his kind get killed anyhow?... There is one thing I can say to him, it's something with truth to it. I have to simplify this as much as possible

"Kid... many days ago, some very bad people who had all the land, went on to try and kill everyone" He looks at me with horror, and Shiori looks displeased from what I'm saying to this boy. "One from every ten people died during the killing... The killing have stopped, but many, many people died" It's actually one out of eleven, but he doesn't know any numbers past ten so far.

He's stuttering a little _"S-some peeple... Kill evywan?... Why!?... Why kill my famly?"_

I sigh then rub my eyes as I adjust my glasses. This kid may have witnessed something too atrocious, to the point that I'm wondering what kind of amnesia does he have again. If retrograde amnesia after being traumatized then severely injured, not to mention being buried alive with someone he cares for, will impair his memory recovery process dramatically.

He's, he's getting up! Mei tries to stop him, but he lightly pushes her away. He's heading towards the open window!

"Where are you going!?" Is this kid out of his mind?

 _"To fin otha my kind"_ Yes, he really is out of his damn mind!

He jumped out the window! "I'll get him dad!" Please hurry up Mei! His wound might reopen!

* * *

 _Is this what truly happened? He wonders as he drags his wounded tail along with him between the grasses of the meadow. The male looking girl is following him, he can recognize her scent from the tailwind blowing from behind._

 _His mind wanders to the female he was buried with as he tries to pick up his pace. She wasn't his mate, he is positive that she wasn't. Was she something similar to a mate to him? A stage before mating perhaps?_

 _He will find out who they are he promises himself. Especially the ones who killed his family, and the female who would have been his mate, only to slow his pace upon realizing that he truly has no idea where he's even heading._

 _There's a 'house' ahead on the meadow. He'll ask the humans there about the mass killings, maybe he can draw some clues... And then what? He can barely speak, and he doesn't understand the symbols in the 'books' yet either. He can't simply go back to the forest and expect something useful to come out of dumb forest animals can he?_

 _He hears a scream from the house's direction, looking closer he can see a human female in the 'woman' age stage ahead. Hurrying to see what's going on, the pain in his tail returns forcing him to grit his teeth. The male looking girl, Mei is catching up to him, he needs to hurry up, he's almost at the house._

 _The human woman is looking at him. He's now at a loss as her expression is familiar. Suddenly he halts his movements once he understands why the woman is so terrified, she's afraid of him, she thinks he's going to kill her doesn't she?_

 _"I'm not gona hurt you" He begins speaking slowly while making sure he looks as unthreatening as possible._

"Mom!"

"Mei! Get away from them!"

 _'Mom?' This is Mei's mother? As in the doctor's mate? He left off only to run into the same people? He admits his failure at understanding his situation, and turns to speak to Mei._

 _"Mei, this woma is your mom?"_

"Yes genius! Now go back, your wounds may reopen leaving them an open house for bad things!"

 _Mei's mother looks at him nervously, she tries to step forward, but she stiffens in fear instead._

"Mei! What are they, and how do you know them!?"

"Relax mom, he's some kid we found half dead in the forest last night".

"What!?"

 _"I was hurt nd bit by faiv wooves, docta nd I killed the wooves, I was very injured so docta nd Uta tok me to cleenic"_

 _She tries to get a little closer now, braving enough thanks to the encouragement of her daughter. He gradually edges towards the woman until there is little distance. She appears to feel more relaxed now, indicating that she is sure she won't be killed or hurt by him._

"Is he.. Some kind of Magical Beast?"

 _'Magical Beast?' What is that he wonders._

"We don't know mom, all we know is that he's a casualty of the Purge. He's technically an orphan"

"... You lost your family"

 _Mortified, he ignores her and turns to head back to the clinic. So the word 'Orphan' refers to a young person who has lost their family. Just now she was afraid of him, and then she's pitying him? He doesn't want her pity._

 _'!"_

 _Someone grabs hold of his right hand as he was about to go, the hand is larger than Mei's hand, so it's her mother. Why? He wonders as he looks at her now all while fighting off the tears threatening to leave his eyes. Why is she looking at him like that?_

 _The woman places her left hand on his right shoulder, and offers him a smile so warm and soothing that the tears streamed down his cheeks and dropped onto the golden grasses below. Something about the smile was both familiar and welcoming, he just cannot understand why._

"Come on in, I'll help change the dressings on your wounds. It's alright".

 _'It's alright' Her mate loves to say this phrase. No, it's not alright he lost his family, and he can't remember anything. What will he do now, where will he go?_

 _Seeing no other choice before him, he follows her to her house with Mei following suit. The woman opens something wooden, this must be a 'door' as depicted in the books Mei showed him._

 _Everything about this place is very new to him... But it's not completely unfamiliar. Has he ever been to a house before losing his memory? Did he live in a house with his family? Can he go back to his house... That's absurd he thinks, he doesn't remember anything to go back for in the first place._

 _The woman takes him to a seating similar to the one in the clinic. He remembers the name as 'sofa' and it's made of bamboo and some... The soft thing atop the structure. He still has a lot to learn._

"Rest your back on the sofa, okay. I'll change the dressings on shoulder first"

 _He's beginning to like her already. Humans are very nice creature he thinks to himself._

* * *

2:53 p.m. The Clinic.

Mei called me earlier, she told me that he is at my house. I'm glad Haruka took this well, but now I'm worried even more about the potential pathogens. I warned her not to give him anything besides water, I still haven't thought about what he can and can't eat.

As for Yuta and I, we took a urine sample from the boy from this morning, the analysis is currently under way. I'm very curious to see what the results would be like since this may be his second leakage since he awoke after being buried alive. Maybe I can draw some clues from those results.

The tissues need to be analyzed at the local college, we don't have the proper equipment here. Yuta will be the one to take care of that, I can count on him for he is the top student there, It will be unlikely of the lecturers to stop him from using the laboratory when they uphold him so much.

If this boy claims to buried alive, then the cause of his supposed death is mystifying, his body looks perfectly intact although there's the healing factor. The only possible suggestion is Cryptobiosis, his body is intact externally, but he could have been in one of several possible scenarios, but the most likely is one that has triggered the ceasing of his metabolic activity to the point of being considered clinically dead.

Now the question is what caused his body to resort to this option? And another question comes to mind, how come only he survived, were the others killed directly and or had open wounds that caused their bodies to become too infested with decomposing microbes thus rendering their recovery pointless?

Still, the possibility for such a creature to exist is extraordinary, I mean Cryptobiosis at such a level? What is his survival ability like, a Tardigrade? He can recover from severe injuries within hours only, and he's also capable of withstanding being trapped underground without suffocating, and this is not even mentioning his admirable physical strength displayed last night in spite of him being severely malnourished.

Another thing about this creature I found puzzling was his transition from being primitive pre his encounter with Yuta, to someone with the intellect of a human born over fifty thousand years ago with barely functional language systems. That was last night, but today? He went from barely being to form a sentence to developing basic comprehension of grammar within several hours. His capability of learning new vocabulary is as astounding as it is disturbing.

How much can he learn? I'll have to wait and see. The first thing I'll try to see is whether or not he can learn reading and writing. If he can learn how to read and write, then I'll move on to see if he can comprehend mathematics.

I wonder about his sexuality, how does he even copulate with that? Maybe like bedbugs... That's a- No, just no, I seriously doubt that his species is capable of that kind of sexual violence on a regular basis, he looks too socially advanced, but again only time can tell if he's also as morally conscious as humans. Either way, a humanoid mammal with bizarre joints and a segmented tail containing organs... What the hell is he?

Yuta's calling for me.

* * *

4:05 p.m, Takada's Household:

 _The woman named Haruka has helped him change his dressings, cleaned his wounds along with Mei, gave him plenty of water, and taught him how to use a construct called a 'toilet'. The 'room' called the 'Bathroom' is a very clever idea that humans came up with he admires, even the block called 'soap' is amusing, it takes away all the grime after washing his hands with water using a wonderful construct called the 'Sink'. Humans thought of everything useful._

 _He has been learning more things from Mei during the past 'hour', he learned that there are 'twenty four' hours a day. More interestingly, he can count now, from one to a 'hundred', but he is still yet to know how to pronounce past 'nine hundred and ninety nine'. Mei taught him about time, and numbers. Both are very useful to understand, now he knows it's four in the 'afternoon'._

 _One thing is for sure during the past hour, he's getting very hungry, the process of healing had taken its toll on him, he needs 'meat' very soon. He should go find something to eat in the meadow, but his tail is in no shape to use for hunting so what should he do?_

 _'Hawuka san, I'm goin out to the medo a little!"_

"What! Why?"

 _"I have to eat food, kill smol nemal, I will come baak soon!"_

"... Fine, but Mei will keep an eye on you"

 _The thought of Mei following him is very interesting to him, the... Girl is very smart she always knows the solution to everything, so she is likely to help him find a way to hunt for food without getting himself injured in the process._

 _They leave through the door, and Haruka watches them from the open door. Mei motions for him to pick a bamboo stick from a pile near the house and points at the sharp tip of the stick.' Of course!' he thinks, this can be a used as a substitute for his spicule._

 _He tells Mei 'Thank you' a 'phrase' that Haruka told him is used when expressing gratitude to others... The phrase is still ringing in his head, it's almost as though he knows of it from before. Did he know any humans from before losing his memory?_

 _Mei is calling for him, and he tells her to 'wait' 'there'. He can hear something moving between the grasses ahead, he treads towards the source slowly but not slow enough for it to get too far away from him._

 _He fastens his hold on the stick with his hands while letting the upper half of the stick rest on his right shoulder. The animal slows it's movements, but he doesn't hasten his pace in order to prevent it from being alarmed of his presence. He can already see it ahead, it's colors are very dark with some dull golden areas._

 _Drawing near it was difficult but not impossible. He is a top predator, no... He is the strongest predator, and this small animal cannot escape him, he will eat this animal so he can survive. The small animal won't look at him or talk, so he has nothing to make him feel like he did anything wrong afterwards._

 _Jamming the tip of the stick into its head, it dies. He removes the stick and holds the long thin and limbless animal. What is this thing? It's one line with the head at one end, and the tail at the other._

"Wait up! Don't eat it right away! This is a snake, a rat snake. Pull out the head and a little of its body past the head so you won't get... Sick"

"Oh! And Pe- remove the hard skin!"

 _He carries out Mei's advisory, and he learned a new word, 'Skin'. Using one hand, he ripped out the head and some chunk past it, after that he used the stick to make an incision that spread out until the tip of the 'snake' tail then peeled the skin off leaving the tender meat beneath it revealed._

 _Now using both hands, he ripped the body in half leaving the unappealing organs to drop on the grasses below, then he removes it's long spine. He was about to eat the meat of the snake, but then he stopped himself once he realized that this is not his hunting ground. If the leader's mate gave him permission to hunt, then she deserves half the kill._

 _Clearing one half from traces of fluids from its organs, he goes back to Haruka who's now looking at him funny. He places the clean half at her feet and says 'for you Hawuka san'. He begins to wonder why Mei is laughing._

 _Why isn't Haruka taking her share of the prey? Did he hunt something worthless in her eyes? Or perhaps he gave her too little, so should he give her a greater share or ask her if she's satisfied with it first?_

 _"Hawuka san, don you like the kill? Eat it... Do I go find otha food?"_

"Umm... No... It's fine... I guess, and uh... Thanks?"

"Hey mom, it's actually edible. You can cook it, he already ate our chicken for today, so this will do... Just don't tell Airi, she's staying here tonight as well!"

"You want me to cook snake meat!?"

"Why not?"

"..."

 _Haruka takes the meat placed beneath her and goes back inside the house. Mei instructs him to eat outside then to wash himself with soap at least two times. Now happy that he managed to repay the small group that are taking care of him, he begins to eat his share. Although that share will be divided among a group of four since the adolescent female is going to sleep in this house tonight, he doubts that humans need as much food as he dose per day._

 _The meat tastes a lot like the 'chicken' he had earlier this day, and he liked the taste of it, but this tastes even better. He hopes that he can impress the doctor by the fact that he's good at providing food for Haruka and Mei._

 _As he eats his thoughts wonder to the adolescent female. She isn't related to the doctor so why is she staying here instead of at her own house? He heard from the nurse called Shiori that Airi, the adolescent female has been staying at the doctor's house since last night._

 _Thinking about this more profoundly he comes to a dreadful conclusion. Is Airi an orphan like him? It isn't an unlikely answer considering the large scale killings the doctor told him about. If she's an orphan too, will she be staying here, and now that he thinks about it, where will he be staying tonight?_

 _Would he be sent to the clinic, or back to the forest?... He doesn't want to go back there, but if the doctor doesn't want him to stay then he doesn't have the right to complain. He will have to wait and see what both the doctor and his mate will decide._

* * *

6:22 p.m, the clinic:

... The results aren't very helpful, well they are, but I shouldn't have expected finalized answers from a simple test.

Specific gravity is high, there are high concentrations of blood cells as well, but that's a result of damage he received in his urinary tract last night.

Epithelial cells were found in high concentrations, no glucose unsurprisingly. No bacteria or parasites were found either, and that's a very good thing, his urinary tract isn't infected. I take it that the Epithelial cells are there in such concentration as a result of his rapid recovery and regeneration.

No white blood cells were found and again that is a good thing for the unidentified male, but we still don't have a clue about what could have possibly happened to him.

We are closing up soon at seven, Yuta's off already and Momoka is leaving shortly. I should go help Shiori now... Still, how was he considered to be dead? What was the indicator... This is going to keep me up all night long isn't it?

I can't help but to feel uneasy about this situation as a whole. An unidentified creature with physical characteristics similar to humans as well as human level intellect was buried along with what the creature considers to be his family, and that he also has haemocyanin based respiratory pigment? It sounds surreal yet it's not.

The at least four others buried there, did they look like him?

... I need to read more into this... Perhaps, there's something else going on here... I'll admit to myself, that I was intrigued by that one conspiracy when it first started, but brushed it off as soon as it was twisted to ludicrous levels, and then there is skepticism. However, there's an actual humanoid with this unique blood at my house at the moment.

What drew me to the original conspiracy was the one who originally sent a letter to the country's only news channel. They were an anonymous who kept on sending these letters after Burondo's pictures were published in merely four hours.

The anonymous person stopped sending letters two days following, no one ever knew why they stopped sending anything. I remember how cryptic the original letters were.

The first letter: **Do you honestly believe that some random foreigner managed to cross six kilometers in less than an hour back to exactly where five million people were gathering? That sounds too unreasonable don't you think?**

The second letter: **Do you honestly believe that the sudden discoveries of over a dozen species of Magical Beasts in NGL less than two days after the Purge ended is a coincidence? Especially very human like ones? Think.**

The third and final letter: **Do you honestly believe Burondo is even human? Over eighty two thousand reports of an unknown winged humanoid during the mass gathering, and then there are the heavily bandaged back and head of Burondo's photos despite the obvious lack of injuries. You think this is all by chance? That those creatures weren't here from NGL? Think harder than that people.**

Now that I think about it again, could there be a connection between this kid and Burondo? The only way to know it to wait until he has managed to understand the world around him better, and once his ability to communicate improves many folds more than it currently is.

The question is whether or not he will react to seeing images of Burondo. I think it's best to wait for a few weeks before doing so, and that is once we are sure that there aren't any pathogens that he might infect us with, or we might infect him with.

... Think harder they said... This person could be dead, imprisoned or threatened into silence. I'll need to be careful from now on, no one must know anything about this boy, I must tell everyone to keep quiet about him no matter what.

* * *

7:12 p.m

Airi and I are heading back to my house, she's currently complaining about how she doesn't enjoying the idea of borrowing some of my wife's clothing for sleeping. She's going to through a tantrum once she sees who's at my house isn't she?

Another issue comes to my mind, what will he do upon seeing her? Will he try to harm her? I'm not sure keeping him around at my house is a good idea, but I don't have much of a choice here. I'll see if Mei can volunteer to keep an eye on him for the night, but that's also a bad idea, she has to fall asleep eventually, and who will look after him in the morning then.. She needs to sleep.

My only option is to get the two to interact verbally, from there I will monitor him to see any changes in facial expression or behavior that may be a bad indicator for something he might do or intend to do.

We reach my house, I didn't need to knock, Mei seemed to have heard Airi's voice near the door.

"Hi dad! Oh, and Airi too! Dinner's ready, and it's a special one too!"

... He's walking towards us, and Airi yelps causing him to look confused.

 _"Hi Docta, hi Aiwi! Hawuka san made food for you!"_

Since when can he even speak like that? When did he- Later, I'll think about it later... Mei, he definitely spoke with Mei during his stay here and she tried to teach him new words, but still he's learning at a very rapi-

 _"It's dusk now, you shod eat and sleep soon"._

"..."

When did he learn those words?... Let me try something.

"Kid, what time is it?"

 _"Seven at naite"_

Maybe Mei again... But still, he only needs to be told something once it before learning it, that is extraordinary, but what will his level of knowledge be at a week from now? My doubts about his capability of reading are beginning to deter, but writing is another story altogether, is his fine motor skills capable of doing such fine and coordinated movements?

I push the thought away and begin encouraging Airi to step into the house, she doesn't seem very enthusiastic.

"What!? I'm not going in there if that monster is staying here!" Despite being positive that he doesn't know that the word means, her tone made him look troubled.

"Airi he won't hurt you- "-NO! HE WILL!" Did Airi just scream at my daughter!?

"Airi! Stop acting so immature!" "I'M NOT STAYING WITH THAT THING" I was going to yell at her but Mei said something about the boy running back to the house..

The door opens fully now, and I can see the boy standing behind my displeased wife while peeping his head from behind her much like a small child would so when scared. He told her on Airi didn't he?

 _" Aiwi fight docta nd Mei, nd say I'm a monsta"_ He's brutally honest, but then again he's too much of a child to understand.

"Airi Arai is that true!?" Haruka sounds pretty angry, a rarity for her, even Mei isn't taking this as an opportunity to mock Airi.

"..."

"Answer me miss Arai!"

"... Yes"

"Apologize to everyone now!"

Airi turned to me and gave a sincere apology for raising her voice at me, and then she turned her attention to Mei and apologized for screaming at her. Now she's looking forward, and she looks unhappy.

"Apologize to him now miss Arai!"

"But he does-"

"Apologize now, or you're staying with Shiroi tonight"

"...Sorry" "Apologize before him miss Arai!"

And Airi disdainfully walked towards him, she doesn't even want to apologize to him, but why? He did absolutely nothing to her.

She reached Haruka, and he walked out of his hiding to look Airi in the eyes with innocence. I kind of feel guilty for assuming that he would have tried to harm Airi, and ironically, she's the one who's harassing him.

"... I'm sorry"... He smiled a little and now he looks at Haruka.

 _"Hawuka san Aiwi cant go way, Aiwi is like me a orphan-"_

"!' "!" "!"

Everyone is staring in shock now... Did Airi just backhand him across his cheek?

"HOW! HOW DO YOU KNOW!? YOU WERE THERE WEREN'T YOU!"

 _" I don undastan you, I don no you Aiwi"_

"THEN YOU'RE ONE OF THEM! I HATE YOU-"

Airi didn't finish screaming at the boy, my wife silenced her with a slap. Although I don't encourage any form of violence, I believe Airi deserves it. She shouldn't have attacked him like that, but... What was she even talking about?

Haruka was about to talk, but the boy interrupted her.

 _"I don no you Aiwi. Aiwi in docta nd Hawuka san house lik me, Aiwi no family to go home to, Aiwi have to stay with olda man nd woman to Aiwi is woman too"_

He gave her a valid respond, and I must admit that he's good at accurate speculation, granted that he doesn't understand what 'staying over for work or school' is. This was merely a result of his obliviousness.

"... You are one of them... They killed my mother! They killed her!"

Wait what!?

 _"No good killars kill my family too. Girl with me, and my s-s-sibwings too.. I cant rememba face an eveythin my family"._

"..."

 _"You need food Aiwi, go in house... Its awite Aiwi. Hawuka san, Aiwi can go in?"_

"Hey Airi! Want to know what's for dinner? Well it's rat snake soup, don't like, then go to Shiori!" Are you serious now Mei!

Haruka let out a long sigh before stating that she can come inside as long as she doesn't say another word for the rest of the night, she then goes on to tell the boy not to speak with Airi for the rest of the night, He looks very distraught by this, it's not his fault that she told him to do so.

Still... I can't help but wonder what Airi meant by what she said.

* * *

10:05 p.m

Dinner was unbearably silent. No one said a word, and everyone avoided eye contact with Airi. I tried to reassure her before she headed to sleep, but she brushed me off without bothering to even look at me.

We set a mattress, a sheet and pillow on the wooden floor for the boy in the living room. He fell asleep very soon afterwards, he is tired, he has been recovering from his wounds all day, it took a toll on him. He probably won't wake up early tomorrow.

What a long and exhausting day today was. I found myself stuck with a living enigma, and now I'm feeling slightly anxious about it all. What Airi said earlier tonight was chilling, it reminded me so much of the anonymous person's second letter. Unidentified humanoids being discovered in NGL two days after the Purge ended... And now according to Airi and the boy, there may in fact have been many of them here prior to the Purge's end.

Just who and what is that boy anyways? What kind of creature could he even be? Haemocyanin for respiratory pigment, incredible display of physical strength, endurance and reflexes, then there's his regenerative abilities... Everything about him is mystifying, although I'm not sure if he could speak human languages prior to his current state of amnesia, or if he truly is that intelligent.

Although I'm worried that keeping him here will bring us trouble eventually, and the only way to analyze some samples will be done by using the college laboratories, and there's a real risk of getting caught there. If we were to be found, things could end up very horrific for all of us.

"Ryuga, are you still awake?"

"... Yes Haruka"

"Are you thinking about the boy and Airi?"

"Yes Haruka... I, I don't quite understand what she meant, and I don't understand anything about him at all"

"Hmm.. They both have been through a lot, don't you think that's more concerning? Airi lost her mother, and the boy lost his entire family. I'd be more concerned with that Ryuga".

If only this situation was as easy and simple Haruka. There's something off about this whole ordeal, and I'm certain that the end result of it won't be pretty, and yet, here I am driven by curiosity. It's a dangerous thing, curiosity, the double-edged blade of human innovation.

"I hope I'm not making a mistake Haruka"

"Huh?"

"Never mind me... Good night Haruka"

"Night..."

I really hope I'm not taking a reckless risk.

* * *

A/N: So this long, and quite frankly, boring chapter is over.

The next chapter will center around Rojo and Azul again. I like slow build plots, so don't expect anything major to happen anytime soon. Maybe by chapter ten the plot will begin to kick in.

Mei's concept art link: ( imgur a/PLgM5 ) Manga style screenshot ((I tried...)) link: (imgur DVVr3uf).

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you next time.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter: 6

Author's notes:

Disclaimer: HxH belongs to Togashi.

... I know it has been a while since I updated, nearly a month really. Between sickness and other Real Life issues, I couldn't edit this chapter earlier even though it has been completed for a week now.

I'm not leaving any science fact checkers at this chapter due to how dark and depressing the nature of this chapter really is. What I will do instead is a political fact checker in the HxH world in this A/N:

The world of HxH has irrationally messed up politics in general, and the entirety of the Election Arc would have never played out as sugary sweet as it did if it were to happen in real life.

A prominent example of this would be the lack of global reaction to the usage of the Rose bomb, the HxH world equivalent of nuclear weapons. If something like this happened in real life, along with a sudden half a million losses in lives, the world would be in a frenzy, take it from someone living in the Middle East.

Another issue in the Election arc, is the lack of any sort of recognition to the ten parties that went into NGL prior Kite's team. No funeral, no nothing, and this counts for the ones that died in East Gortaeu. Simply unrealistic, there should have been an explanation for this.

The worst things post Election arc would be:

A- No one seriously bothered to investigate the disappearance of the 5000 cocoons? At least Paristion should have fabricated some sort of lie to make an excuse around this. How the hell is he keeping them fed and in check anyways?

B- No one seriously bothered to investigate the origin of the Chimera Ant Queen, or give acknowledgement to the fact that Kite may develop into a Chimera Ant Queen... Nuff said.

I'm going to address these issues along with many more starting this chapter, so many aspects of the Election arc, and post Election arc are going to be heavily altered and the Dark Continent are is going to take a different turn here. Starting from this chapter, the AU from post Chimera Ant arc truly begins.

WARNING: There is a suicide scene at the end of this chapter. If you are suicidal, or have constant suicidal thoughts, please, and I beg you please! Reconsider, trust me, the pain eases eventually no matter how awful it is. I was there in that situation, and I'm glad I chose not to end myself. So please do not consider death as an option!

This chapter rating is lifted to M for a suicide scene.

Mei's age has been changed from 11 to 12, the last chapter has the change edited.

* * *

Thursday 2:04 a.m

' **All passengers to flight 213 please head over to terminal 7B'**

Walking along a crowded mass has never felt so quiet and empty. Life around the world is just as it always has been save for one small region. People chattering, some to each other, and the others on their phones. Children are either laughing or complaining to their parents. So many ethnicity gathered in one gateway leading to a terminal past a checkpoint.

Horrors are witnessed by everyone at some point, everyone has their share of tragedy, loss, and drama. When does a situation, so alien, tend to bypass the very foundations of the human mindset?

The distraction that occupied him for a little over a week is over, Morel Mackernasey has to now face the reality that his psyche had pushed back in a desperate attempt to ignore what he's been through, what he's witnessed. But he simply can't stand and do nothing, not when his own heart is at a disagreement.

When someone is labeled dead, family and loved ones can cope. When someone is labeled injured, family and loved ones can cope. However, missing is a very tormenting label for someone to bear, for their family and loved ones will suffer until that person is announced to be either dead or alive.

Those families aren't going to be at rest. Morel was internally outraged upon hearing from Bean that the twenty three Hunters who died in NGL and the twelve that died in East Gortaeu were to be announced missing. Morel understands that this order was not issued by the HA itself, but it is still too much of a stretch to hide the facts from all Hunters who weren't involved in the Chimera Ant Extermination mission.

Only a selective number of Hunters know just how gruesome the mission truly was. The two who were in charge of the cleanup in the ant nest in NGL came back traumatized in spite of the fact that the Chimeras that chose to stay behind were benevolent to them, but then again, entering _that_ chamber is nothing they can ever hope to recover from.

When the licenses of the twenty three hunters were retrieved with the help of a Chimera by the name of Panda, Morel was stunned when he checked the ID's of those Hunters. A friend of his who died at the hands of a Chimera Ant called Leol- as he learned of the name from the Chimera Ikalgo- had his apprentice Hunter die before him in NGL.

Unable to withstand the moral conflict of them being announced dead, Morel decides to visit Enmiraa*, an Azian country, where both fallen Hunters came from. Not wanting to rouse any suspicion, Morel paid for the flight and used his passport instead of relying on his Hunter license, after all, his move will be registered if he used it.

Two families will be informed. While Morel is somewhat relived that his friend was unmarried and had two brothers, thus making the news easier to his friend's living parents to cope with.. A quick search on online social media showed Morel that the other Hunter was one of two children to a small family in a town called Artadrel in the Tsiatsan mountain range.

It's disheartening to know that many young and inexperienced Hunters were sent to NGL to investigate. Something about that whole fiasco was sour, and Morel knows deep down that there's something missing to the whole story.

The airship is leaving very shortly. Morel hands over the ticket to be marked, and his passport was stamped.

Morel hopes that this isn't going to be too painful, both for the families and for himself.

* * *

 **Wednesday (Week 0** ): **12:19 a.m, Shinyoju Village.**

 **The duo, Rojo and Azul, have made it back to the rented cottage after confirming their success less than five hours earlier. After spending nearly two days and nights awake, Rojo's phone began to ring after the duo have been asleep for no more than three hours.**

 **It is more convenient for the duo to stay in this village due to the recent availability for cellular networks to work in densely populated areas in this district. Before Rojo managed to reach the phone, Azul picks up the phone and answers the call.**

 **Upon hearing the voice of David Andrews, Azul's expression turns bitter.**

 **** Hello? Ro-****

 ****Fuck you David! Do you have to call us now you fucktard!?****

 **"Azul. Hand me my phone now"**

 **Azul hands over the phone, glaring at the screen while doing so, and mumbling something about lack of decency from David Andrew's behalf.**

 ****Hello? David? Rojo here****

 **** Mission status****

 **Rojo sighed inwardly. The man, David Andrews is unbearably bleak most of the time.**

 ****The Ant King is making significant progress in speech, social interactions, and recovery. The candidates took him in, he's currently staying at the Takada's household, sleeping in their living room****

 ****Anything else?****

 ****The girl by the name of Airi may have come in contact with Chimera Ants before****

 ****Is that a source of trouble?****

 ****The doctor Ryuga is unusually interested in the letter incident. This can arouse suspicion later on****

 ****I see... Anything else?****

 **Rojo bit his lips, keeping up with this man's pace has always been a nuisance.**

 **** The Ant King is cure...****

 **** I take it you get my point now. Even though we've established a secure hidden network, you should have still asked if the line was secure. I am very disappointed Rojo, I thought you were a cautious man****

 ****...****

 ****Anyhow, the mission starts on Sunday, consider yourselves in week zero for now, come visit me a day prior week one. You are to be assigned as bodyguards for the health and college board inspectors so no suspicion is aroused by the Hunter that's been stationed in this district****

 **The call was terminated before Rojo could reply to David.**

 **"So what did the dickhead say to make you look so pissed?"**

 **Rojo sets his phone at the nightstand and rubs his tired eyes. David just made his night terrible, and he wonders if he can fall asleep before dawn tonight.**

 **"I'm getting scolded by him, again" Rojo couldn't believe how awkward his own words sounded, it's unusual for a man at the age of twenty eight to say that he's been scolded, although David did have a valid point. One wrong word and both the HA and UMILS would come after them.**

 **"The fuck for? Oi let me guess mate! You said too much despite the fact that we've established a hidden network five days ago. He's doing that to piss you off. Go back to sleep mate"**

 **Sleep was something Rojo desperately needed. He tries to push any distractions off his mind as he lays on the mattress again, but fails.**

 **"Azul" Rojo called for his partner.**

 **"Yes mate?"**

 **"There's a Hunter in this district alone. Then there are several others around, and if David referred to only that Hunter, that means there's something else going on. I don't think calling me out for not being careful was an offhand remark".**

 **The younger tried to decipher what Rojo was trying to say.**

 **"So... You're trying to say that a third party might be involved here?"**

 **"Almost there"**

 **"... He told you to zip it in way right?.. So, there might be a spy in our crew?"**

 **"That's what he may have been trying to say I fear".**

 **Azul paused for a little before asking the other "So, who do you think it might be?"**

 **"I don't know"**

 **"This sucks..."**

 **"..."**

 **"Get some sleep mate, we have a hell a lot to do tomorrow"**

 **The older remembered something important from the other day. "Azul, I have something important to tell you on Thursday" He remembered that he wanted to punch Azul in the face for his conduct while they were shadowing the Ant King in the forest.**

 **"Okay, sure. Goodnight"**

 **"..."**

 **Rojo hopes that he can rest well this night.**

* * *

Thursday(Week 0) 5:52 a.m. Flight 213:

Morel wasn't bothered by the heavy and thick clothing he was wearing, it's going to be below the freezing point in the Tsiatsan mountain range at night. Wearing a wooly hat was a good addition, his outfit overall is doing well to make him feel obscured from his surroundings. No one is going to come up to a man that concealed.

The view outside the airship helped Morel ease out some of his tension, but it did little to put his mind at rest. What is he going to say to them? He knows that he can't say anything about how they died, and only vaguely why, and that's going to sound upsetting to them.

It's enough what he had to go through a day after the election was over. Palm confessed to him that she filed a request for a direct conformation to the Ant King's death, as long as the corpse wasn't to be incinerated as the majority appealed for.

A world renounced medical and pharmaceutical technology corporation took it upon them to remove the bodies, and bury them in an isolated area. The Hunters assigned there confirmed the death of the Ant King, and Palm got her request by retrieving the bodies of the Royal Ant Guard, and burying them.

The first pictures taken of the Ant King's body had left the parties involved, himself included, speechless. The Ant King was locked in the embrace of the deceased fourteen years and eleven month old world Guangi champion. It was only then that Morel truly believed that the Ant King had a close mutual relationship with the human girl.

Only nine Hunters have seen those images, Morel himself, his apprentices, Knov, and his apprentice, Chairman Secretary Beans, and three Hunters assigned in East Gortaeu. The staff that confirmed the death were the very same team of medical staff that were sent to NGL per the Chimera Colt's desperate appeal. And finally, there's the removal team which were composed of five different professionals.

The Chimeras Meleoron and Ikalgo refused to look at those pictures, Meleoron in particular refused to acknowledge what he has heard. Palm Siberia also gave everyone who knew a hard time herself, she refrained from saying what went on between the both Ant King and the human called Komugi. All she told them was that she prefers to let their last memories remain untainted, which led to an argument with Meleoron.

The bodies were finally buried on Friday last week, and the ruckus died out now that the Extermination mission is officially over. It was a pyrrhic victory at best. Over half a million innocent civilians of both NGL and East Gortaeu died. An entire race of sentient species, the Human-like Chimeras, can now be considered one of the most endangered species alive. And the main kicker is the lack of any available information on the five thousand cocoons... Until he received word that they were incinerated.

This is how things ended. Half a million humans dead, and a species of Sentient beings were born to be hunted again to the brink of extinction. Only forty two Chimeras now have been confirmed living, and all must comply to never leave the borders of NGL without both permission and surveillance.

Mass senseless slaughter on both sides behalf is what Morel calls it. Two races competing to live, and in the end, the older race have won by any means necessary, even if it means resorting to genocide themselves.

It was their only option, they had no other choice. If the Chimera Ants had won, humanity would be in jeopardy. Numbers, that was the only thing that Morel kept on trying to assure himself with. Humans dramatically outnumbered the Chimera Ants, and humans are his kind, which always comes first.

That would have been a good argument to keep him at ease... And yet, Morel has been stuck in a seemingly endless spiral of guilt upon hearing the mass extermination of the five thousand Chimera Ant cocoons.

The Hunter's association's greatest fear was that the ants will wipe out humanity, and here they are fulfilling that themselves onto the Chimeras. The mission was as successful as he hoped to be... And then they went on to exterminate the Chimeras that never had to do with anything, and keep the remaining Chimeras under watch.

What is the difference? Morel believed that he was doing his duty as a Single Star Hunter to serve humanity, but genocide was never anything he wanted to take part in. He doesn't want the Triple Star status, nor participation in the elections. What for? So he can take praise for walking out of that madness alive?

"Would you like anything to drink sir?"

"Humph?"

Morel snapped out of his thoughts to look at the flight attendant addressing him.

"One beer... And could you please fill the cup with ice?.. Thank you"

The flight attendant fills the cup, and gives him the half filled can. Morel sets it on his passenger seat tray, and wastes no time to begin sipping the cold beer.

Morel has been drinking extensively after the he dared to ask Beans what happened to the cocoons on the very same day the licenses of the fallen Hunters were retrieved. All he can do is attempt to drown out his grief before he knows for sure that Knov will force him to stop drinking.

He's alive... Both him and his two apprentices, because the enemy refused to kill them. The enemy didn't kill his apprentice Knuckle later, and Knov's apprentice wasn't killed or violated by the enemy as they had speculated.

Would she have been incinerated as well had she not hatched early?

Morel groans as he cusps his forehead in his right hand. He's been hardly sleeping or eating lately, with constant headaches to keep him from resting. Before that dreaded day he was doing well in terms of recovering, but the truth of what was done after the end has left him depressed.

The innocents have died on both sides, and the killers have survived on both sides. And now, Morel is going to try the only thing he can do to make the situation somewhat bearable for two families by telling them the truth.

Had things been different. Had he knew of what was going to happen afterwards, he would have protested. It's too late though, what is done is done, and there's nothing that he or anyone else can do to change that.

He still has some unfinished business to do. Morel knows that there's a something missing. As much as he doesn't want to believe it, Morel is sure that the HA wouldn't just send Hunters who haven't completed a single D+ rank to a mission with an unknown status.

A Chimera Ant Queen, conveniently humanoid, conveniently has human level intellect, has conveniently found her way into NGL, the most convenient place in the world for a colony of sentient Chimera Ants to thrive. That cannot have possibly happened by pure chance, and he has been thinking of ways around it for over a week now with no possible outcome of it all happening by chance.

As soon as this trip is over, Morel will begin investigating in this matter. But for now, there are visits to make.

* * *

Wednesday(week0) 9:10 a.m. Takada's Household.

 _... "Urph'... "Mnnah"..._

"Y...Ke"

 _...?_

"Are you awake?"

 _His eyes slowly began to crack open. He doesn't want to leave this comfortable setting, it's been a welcoming change to the damp and dark earth he was buried in._

 _That would have made him ignore Haruka san and allow himself to sleep a little longer, but he's hungry and wants to eat something, so he has to get up to go hunting in the meadow again._

 _"Hawuka san?" He's also in need for something essential as well._

"Yes there?"

 _"Wa-water?"_

 _He can hear Haruka san giggle before telling him 'Sure there!'... Is 'sure' a confirmation word? Perhaps, perhaps not... He'll ask Mei, she knows everything apparently._

 _He watched Haruka san as she opened a wooden... cubic door thing at above the sink, and took hold of one of those glass cups. For some reason, he knows what glass is, along with many concepts like fire, and metal. What he doesn't know is how they are made and obtained._

 _Haruka san went to a giant 'bottle' filled with water. She placed the cup below a blue strapped piece, and she pushed the piece. This somehow caused the water to flow down into the cup. He needs to know where the water in 'sink', 'bottle', and 'toilet' come from._

 _She comes to him with filled cup, and he sits on the setting more properly and accepts the cup being offered to him by Haruka san._

 _"Th-th-thank you, Hawuka san"_

 _The woman in question smiles warmly and pats his shelled helmet. He begins to drink from the cup patiently, not wanting to drink too fast._

 _Upon drinking the water, Haruka san took the cup from him and went to wash it in the sink. He should tell her now that he's going to hunt, but not before asking for Mei first. He doesn't know what he should hunt out here after all._

 _"Hawuka san?"_

"Yes there?"

 _"Whee is Mei?"_

"She's with her father at the clinic. Why do you need her for something?"

 _"Y-yes. Mei nd I go look for food to kill"_

 _Haruka san bit her lips for a moment before speaking._ "Your wounds need to be checked, and cleaned first".

 _She does have a point. He waits for her to gather the... Healing things... One of them is a bottle containing a liquid with a very sharp odor, he doesn't want to drink that thing, it stung when it was applied to his tail and shoulder yesterday._

 _Once she unwraps the dressings at his shoulder they both noticed that wound has healed completely. She then removed the dressings around his tail, and she looked shocked to see that most of the wounds have been remodeled with the eight segment mostly regenerated._

"Oh... That's.. Quite something"

 _"I heel!" He smiled at the fact, fully pleased to know that the pain is almost gone, and that there's little to worry about his wounds now. What's left of it._

 _The woman gave him a pat, and then continued to tend to his wounds. The sharp smelling liquid no longer hurts his tail when applied, but he still doesn't want to drink it._

 _"Hawuka San?"_

"Yes there?"

 _"Aiwi?"_

"... She went to her home earlier today, she said she needs to pack her things before moving in here. Her semester starts next month"

 _He's confused, she said too many new words at once. 'Earlier' 'Pack' 'Semester' 'Next' and 'Month' are all very new words to him, and he can't figure out the meaning of any of them._

 _"I don undastan ewliea, pack, s-s-sem-mesta nd next"_

"Hmm... Earlier is for something that happened a little ago. Pack is to put things away in a containment... Semester... Semester is too complicated for you to understand. Next is for something that comes after, and Month is... Still complicated for you'.

 _There's so much that he still needs to learn, and it doesn't look like he'll understand everything anytime soon._

 _He should get to Mei now, he's hungry and he wants her to be his guide around to see the best hunting spots available. He hopes she can help him find something that's worth the meat._

 _"Mei? Wanna go with Mei"_

"Wait just a bit" _Haruka san said that and went to an object that's placed on a small 'Table'. There's a long line stemming from that object that ends in a port, one like many that are found throughout the house on many walls. There are many things he doesn't understand, like how humans can create light for an instance._

 _'?' What is Haruka san doing he wonders. She picked up a charcoal colored object with a line stemming from the end of it reaching to the main object, and now she's pressing pebble like structures that are making an audible noise upon being pressed... Now the object is making a 'duurrr' sound repeatedly._

"Hello? Shiori? Is Mei here... Can I talk to her?"

 _What just happened!? How!? Just how is that possible!?_

"Hello Mei... Mei can you come over?... It's him, he wants you to help him out... Okay I'll be waiting for you"

 _... Haruka san just spoke to Shiori and Mei... Who are both in a completely different location... How is that even possible? What are humans!?_

 _"Hawuka san!" That came out a little nervous, and she caught on to the uneasy tune of his voice._

"What's the matter there?"

 _"How you spoke with Mei nd Iori!?"_

"Oh! That's because I was using a telephone" _He blinked twice, what's a 'Telephone' and how does it grant someone the ability to speak with someone else from such a distance... Maybe he can contact other members of his species that way!... But he doesn't know which sequence to press... Haruka san managed to contact Shiori because she pressed a sequence that allowed her to contact Shiori, and he doesn't know any sequence to contact anyone with._

 _"Hawuka san.. I'm just the one of my otha... Are there otha?"_

 _She paused, and drew closer. She placed her right hand on his right shoulder, and her right hand behind his back. He felt himself being drawn close to her. He appreciates the warm gesture, but he knows that Haruka san is avoiding the question._

 _Will he ever find any other members of his own kind? Or did the people the doctor told him about killed them all? Is he all that's left?... And then what? What will he do if he turned out to be the only one left? Is his kind doomed?_

 _He likes these welcoming people, he'll stay with them at least until he's learned enough to manage things on his own. Only then he can set out to find more of his own kind._

 _"!"_

 _He's suddenly startled by the knocking sounds on the front door. Mei is here. Haruka san pries herself from the embrace, and goes to open the door for her daughter. Mei must have ran all the way here._

 _Haruka san barely managed to open the door, for Mei decided to storm in to the house irritating her mother a little in the process. Mei is panting and her face is red. She stood before him and clasped her knees for a few seconds as she began to catch her breath._

 _"Mei-Mei!" He announced while ruffling her short raven hair. Her hair is a little sweaty, but it doesn't matter since he's going to wash himself once he comes back from hunting both for himself and his current caretakers._

 _Mei let out a giggle and raised her hand to poke his chest._

"So green boy! What do you want me for?"

 _"Mei, you nd I go look for food to kill nd eat-"_ "-Awesome!"

 _Mei took hold of his left wrist before exclaiming_ "C'mon, let's go! I know the right place!"

* * *

 _It's been about half an hour since they went into the forest, and he's very hungry now, is Mei really sure about what she's doing? As much as he wants to ditch this idea and look for something else to hunt, he decides to give Mei's plan a try._

 _He started a conversation with her earlier and asked her about other species that can talk, she told him that only humans and some magical beasts do, and that he might be a species of magical beasts._

 _One thing he's glad about, is that Mei didn't go to the sheer drop. He wouldn't know what to say if she saw the rotting carcass of one of her kind that he's responsible for the death of. Sure, he was on the verge of starvation, but he might have reacted differently if he had known about humans, or would he not? It's impossible to tell, he was in a daze after he dug himself from his grave, so he most likely would have ate that human either way._

 _At least, that human wasn't part of this group of humans, or even someone they might know. That way he won't feel too much about it, although it raises another question. Where did he come from and where did he live? Is it possible that he has never seen a human before now?_

"Ok, from this point, I'll wait here and you kill the roe dear who should be near the water by now"

 _Right, the plan. Mei told him that a 'Roe dear' is very big and meaty, and that he should carry it back close to her house, and cleave multiple sections of its body. Mei told him that humans have created something to prevent food from spoilage, and that Haruka san will store the meat in that 'Device' called 'Freezer'._

 _Mei can stay here, there's nothing dangerous here at this time of the day..._

 _... He halted, and took a few moments to let the thought that just crossed his mind sink in... Mei might not be safe surrounded by shrubs and trees. If he could eat a human, then others of his species most certainly can._

 _What if others of his kind are hiding in the forest, both lost and hungry? They'll kill and eat her before she can even register what's going on! He should tell her to stay in an open area where she can see any signs of movements in the shrubs.. No, that's too far, he'll never reach her in time that way._

 _"Mei, stay with me" This caused her to be a little confused._

"What!? Why? We'd lower our chances of capturing it that way!"

 _"Mei, bad things in forest!"_

"There's nothing dangerous at this time of the d-"

 _"There is danja in fores-"_

"-Well yeah? Like what-"

 _"-Like Me!"_

 _'!' He shouldn't have said that!_

"... I don't understand?" _What should he tell her now?_

"Care to elaborate?" _She's going to be afraid of him if she finds out won't she?_

"Hello?" _He has no choice but to tell her why his dangerous, he will leave out details, but she'll get the gist of it. He silently wishes that she won't hate him afterwards._

 _"... Mei.."_ "Yes greenie?"

 _"My kind can eat euman"_ "That's a speculation, you don't remember anyth-"

 _"Mei!"_ "..."

 _"Aiwi talk that otha my kind kill her motha"_ "She could have mea-"

 _"Mei... I know she spoke bout my kind"_ "..."

 _"My kind don know human talk nd think... I think to my kind, euman don talk or think, my kind don know euman long ago... My kind only know euman now"._

"... What?" _The word came out like a whisper and he knows she won't like what she's going to hear next. If she acts out in fear, then he'll leave for good and never come back again._

 _"Mei..."_ "...Yes?"

 _"Two day ago..."_ "... Waiting"

 _"I...I... I..."_ "Just say what you want to say alrea-"

 _"-I kill and ate a euman Mei! I killed a euman!"_

 _... If time can stop, then it would have as soon as he said those words. The young girl, Mei Takada stood there like a statue with a shaken expression. She neither moved nor spoke, and even her very own breath seemed to have come to a halt..._

 _After what seemed to be a moment eternally frozen in time, the girl broke the dreadful silence, and he was apprehensive about what she'll say. This is it he told himself, he ruined everything._

"... But... Why?" _"..."_

"... Why?" _He wanted to face the ground, but that would be cowardice, so he looked her in the eyes and said:_

 _"I was go die from no food for many days... All nimals go way, woo danja at night... Euman was there... So I kill the euman..."_

"..."

 _"I unestan" He admits in defeat before adding "I'm goin way..." Then he used a word he learned last night "Bye Mei"._

 _He turned to leave. That's it, he destroyed his only chance at having some sense of his existence, and it's all because of how different he and humans are. His kind is composed of dangerous predators, while humans live in more enclosed, less violent lifestyle. The two species just can't mix he sadly accepts._

"WAIT!"

 _"!"_

"DON'T GO!"

 _Mei ran up to him and stood dangerously close to him. Doesn't she get it? He's a source of danger both to her and her family she shouldn't draw that near to him, especially after he told her that he preyed on one of her species._

"Look at me now!"

 _Reluctantly, he obeys._

"I kind of saw this coming..." _'!?'_

"You see... My father is very skeptic.. As in someone who always thinks about why something happens all the time, and tries to falsify it to see if it is real or not"

"When the geno- mass killings happened, a strange person came up and sent writings to a station that gives out information to people about daily happenings, it's called news channels and news stations. You're with me so far? Okay"

"The writings state that there might be non human talking creatures who arrived here shortly before the mass killings, and that these creatures come from a land called NGL. You see, the humans that live in NGL are too basic, and live a very wild and un-smart lifestyle that made them too weak and low in intellect"

"Today at dawn, I snuck into a certain room in the clinic to hear what Yuta and my father have to say without them seeing me. I was surprised to hear that they are sure that you came from NGL, and that your kind had little to no actual civi- talk with humans before"

"Now I believe that your kind may have often hunted humans in NGL, and because of how basic humans there are, contact and talk between both kinds was never made until your kind came here. This led to a lot humans dying from your kind, and a lot of your kind dying from humans"

"Fortunately, a powerful group called the Hunters Association put down the very un-friendly beasts, and classified the friendly ones as magical beasts under protection, which means under safety"

"This means that all of you kind, both the friendly and the un-friendly have eaten humans before knowing that humans are also smart. The fact that you are warning me proves that you are not among the dangerous ones that continued to cause damage after knowing what humans really are".

 _... This is a lot to take in at once. From what Mei was trying to tell him, he understood the following; The Doctor was in a way curious yet unsure about something a strange person sent to a 'news station' where humans share information._

 _These 'writings' the stranger sent state that his kind came from a place called NGL where humans are not advanced, and from the way she says it, the advanced humans have never heard of his kind because the humans from NGL are poor in intellect and therefore don't know how to share information far away like Haruka san did this morning using something called a 'Telephone' if he recalls correctly._

 _Both the Doctor and Yuta had suspicions about the likelihood of him being from the land that goes by the name 'NGL' and that his kind never bothered to attempt a talk with the humans there, and the reverse is true._

 _If the humans there are too basic, then their primary reaction to seeing one of his kind is to run away or scream. His kind must have treated them as prey following that logic, just like how he treated the very first human he met after he dug himself out of his grave._

 _He dreadfully thinks about it for a moment, and draws a grim conclusion. Humans live in groups of many, and they are very helpless without designed tools like the artificial light the Doctor used to startle the wolves with. Does this. Could this mean that.. His kind often raided human gathering groups and abducted several humans to eat?_

 _The idea does make a lot of sense as disturbing as it is. Humans are weak and slow, and they have very rich and tender meat... Catching them is easy, so his kind must have hunted them during times where rich meaty animals are scarce._

 _Possibly the reason why humans from NGL never left that land is either fear of being completely wiped out by his kind along the path in mountains or forests, or that they might have thought that what's waiting for them outside is even worse._

 _This calls for another question. If the humans in NGL were too scared and isolated to leave, then what about humans who wanted to venture in NGL? Were they all eaten like the human from two nights ago? That would explain why his kind wasn't discovered until recently, after all, if all the humans going there never come back, then why should anyone bother going there._

 _... But then... How did his kind get discovered?_

 _Mei mentioned something about a group of very powerful humans called 'Hunters Association'. Could they have survived his kind's hungry raids on humans? How? He killed five wolves while he was on the verge of starvation after being buried for days, he was too weak at the time and he still managed to kill them. What kind of humans are the 'Hunters Association' to survive against creatures like him at full strength?_

 _Even that isn't a sufficient explanation. The whole picture is incomplete, there's still something he doesn't understand. If his kind came from NGL, then how did he and many of his kind even got here in the first place?_

 _Suppose that he and his family somehow got here, that still wouldn't explain how he and his family died unless... The group called the 'Hunters Association' came here and started to look for his own kind in order to kill them. But then why would they protect some of his kind and kill others?_

 _If he was one of the very violent ones, why bother giving him a proper burial? This would have been nonsensical to him, but a thought crossed his mind. What if the humans called the 'Hunters Association' never knew that his own kind was smart like humans, and they resorted to killing them out of fear before knowing the full truth._

 _If that is the case, then who is responsible for the mass killings? His kind couldn't have hunted too many people at once, and the 'Hunters Association' wasn't killing his kind by over thousands. The land would be full of corpses of his species and there would be also many of his species around that way._

 _There's a missing piece to this enigma that he just cannot grasp. He'll talk to Mei about this once he learns enough words to communicate with her properly. If Mei trusts him with her secrets, then he will trust her with his. He won't tell the Doctor or Yuta about this for now. He's going to wait and see what conclusion they might come up with._

 _If his conclusion is right, then it's sad. He likes humans now that he got to know them. he can't begin to fathom how he used to hunt them down and take them away from their families to eat them when prey was scarce._

 _He understands that his kind wants to survive, but still he can relate to why the powerful group of humans attacked his kind. He almost shuddered at the thought of Mei being torn away from Haruka san's arms and being taken to be served as a meal for very hungry members of his kind._

 _How many humans were eaten by him and his family in the past? Did his parents bring him humans to eat whenever food was scarce? Or worse yet, his parents could have been teaching him how to raid human houses and steal members of them to be eaten..._

 _This time he shuddered, and Mei took notice of that shudder._

"So? What do you have to say about this greenie?"

 _He folded his arms around his chest, head facing the ground, and shook his head "I don know how to tell you, I don know words"._

"Say it the best way you can"

 _A long and tired sigh escaped his throat as he rested his right palm on his forehead "Mei" He began "My kind ate euman when little food. I wememba euman meat... I ate many euman, me nd my kind"_

 _Now facing away from Mei, he continues. "I think powefa euman kill my family, my kind like euman meat nd don know euman smart nd talk, nd euman don know my kind smart nd talk, so euman nd my kind kill both otha"_

 _"Euman in NGL no smart, my kind think them no people, so my kind eat euman much... Yestay... Aiwi say I a monsta.. Monsta kill nd eat euman wight Mei?"_

 _The young girl shook her head_ "You're not a monster stupid. This whole ordeal is just one big misunderstanding from both sides" _He doesn't know what 'Ordeal' means, but he believes it may refer to an outcome of something as he easily understands 'Misunderstanding'._

"What you said brings many mysteries- not know things... I'll tell you what. Kill the roe deer now, and I'll teach you from around five till ten this evening. In a few days I'll teach you about letters and numbers. Once you understand enough, we are going to have a very long talk"

 _"Mei.."_ "Yes greenie?"

 _"This talk is me nd you. No otha people"_ "My thoughts greenie"

 _He began to shudder again, this time he clasped his shoulders to try to ease the tremors "Mei...I don want to eat euman... Don want to... don want to" He's shaking now, all of this is too much for him to cope with at once._

 _This is what he is? A monster that abducts humans from their families to eat them? Is this what being the strongest predator is like!? He hates this. All because of the fact that he and his family are this kind of creatures, his family was killed for being a creature that preyed on human flesh... And he actually enjoyed it._

 _The tremors kept on increasing, and he's not caring that Mei is trying to shake him out of it. He's scared, no, he's terrified. He's terrified of the powerful humans that are killing his kind, he's terrified that he made life for many humans terrifying... This is all wrong, too wrong._

"Snap out of it! Greenie! Snap out of it! It's going to be okay now! No one's going to hurt you and you don't have to hurt anybody!"

 _He can't, he can't go back to Mei's house, he can't_ "Please greenie!"

 _Mei saying the word 'Please' caused him to look at her directly, she can see the pain and panic in his eyes that he can't. She places a hand on his shoulder and pulls him_ "It's okay greenie, there's nothing that's going to hurt you or anyone else now" _She began rubbing his back and his tremors began to ease down a little._

"C'mon there buddy. Relax... There, breath deeper...Good"

 _...He just... He just cannot take in that revelation at once so easily, there's still something he has to ask Mei for. Maybe she can help him understand just exactly what was going on in the isolated land called NGL, and how the powerful humans managed to survive hi-_

"You know this complicates a lot of things about what the cons- writings stated" _What is she talking about? Mei is mumbling to herself_ "If the anonymous was saying the truth... Then you folks were involved somehow, but there weren't many of you I think. There's no way your kind could have exceeded two thousand" _Mei is confusing him._

"If all the letters were true, then Burondo is also one of the creatures from NGL... But how? That guy looks obviously human" _Mei isn't talking to him, she's rambling to herself_ "And yet... One thing remains strange. Burondo did cross from the site of the bomb upon it's detonation to the mass gathering without dying" _This isn't something he likes anymore._

 _"-Mei... What you spoke? I don undestan..."_

 _She huffed and then said_ "There's no way that you're going to understand anything I might tell you now. You have a lot to learn greenie. Now would you please just kill the roe deer?"

 _... She didn't answer his question, but he's going to trust her judgment. He's getting very hungry, and he feels like killing the roe deer now._

 _He informs Mei that she must stay close to him in case others of his human eating species are still somewhere in this forest, and she obliges by mentioning something about not wanting to be eaten._

 _... His existence is a mess._

* * *

Friday (week 0) 12:04 p.m. Artadrel Town.

It's a calm and pleasant town here, no one looks anywhere near upset. The fresh scent of the earth after the rainfall has made the air more lively. The chimneys are emitting smoke, and some town folks are selling firewood and charcoal.

Two children sprinted by, laughing and giggling as they run on the stone paved street to a brick house ahead surrounded by herbal garden plants just like most of the houses in this small town. A woman waved to the two children and they returned her gesture by saying 'Barev!' which stands for hello.

The door to the house ahead opened and the children were greeted by whom looks like to be their older brother. The duo giggled at their brother's expression as they went into their house, the door closing behind them. There's a school break this week he remembers as he heard from a bystander at the train station late last night.

Morel is currently looking for where the deceased Hunter's home is located, but this task is a little difficult due to the towns infrastructure. The town itself is located on a mountain slope, so it's streets are constant ups and downs. Not to mention the heavy plantations between each house adds to the difficulty of locating landmarks, sure this serves to make this town look attractive, but it isn't helping his current situation.

Maybe he should ask this woman for directions.

"Nerets'yek' induz karotum" He tries his best not to sound like a foreigner, but it's obviously not going to work, and his tanned skin is an obvious giveaway either ways.

"Ayo?"

"Duk' gitek' vortegh Jorj mwkhanik?"

"-Inch'u yek' uzum tesnal nran?" He asked her of the mechanic named Jorj, and she immediately responded with why he wants to see him. Her cheerfulness has dropped and was replaced by sternness.

"... Yes aystegh yem matuts'yel norut'yunner..." Morel flatly said that he's here to deliver news, and the woman looked grim in response. She has a hunch that something terrible has happened, or maybe it's his own worn out face and lifeless voice that gave it out.

"Yeresun metr depi dzakh e Baze hushardzani" So thirty meters to the left of the Falcon monument. That's close by the town's largest cathedral, he won't have much difficulty looking for it, it's tall enough to be seen from here.

Morel was about to thank the woman for her corporation, but she looked at him accusingly and said "Spasets'in yerku amsov". They waited for two months she said.

Morel can do nothing but nod and tell her that he's sorry. The woman bid him goodbye and left him without saying anything else. The towns folk are truly upset about the Hunter then, he has been missing for two months as he and the remaining Hunters sent to NGL and East Gorteau were falsely stated to be. They are all dead, and only his deceased friend's family knows the truth so far.

As soon as the election ended, letters were sent to the families of the Hunters that they went missing. No additional information was added, that's all they received, that they are simply 'missing'. All they said was the date of when they went missing, and that's about it. Those families, the ones he can't risk informing, are going to wait forever or come in terms with the fact that their missing relatives are never coming back.

He should go look for the Jorj, the Hunter's uncle whom he lived with. Morel hopes that this confession doesn't cause more damage than that that's already been done.

* * *

Thursday(Week 0) 7:19 p.m The Clinic.

Finally, I get to start some sort of examination on this boy. He's in a much healthier state now than he was two days ago. Still I find it hard to believe how he managed to carry the dead weight of a some forty five kilogram roe deer at a distance of two kilometers from the nearest stream in the forest to the back of my house with little effort.

He did spend about four hours cleaving the animal's body and Mei was placing the meat in zipper bags and placed them in both the fridge and the freezer. Twenty four kilograms of meat was obtained from the deer he killed yesterday, twelve for him and nine for us, and the other three were given to the staff members.

"For the last time kid, stand straight!" Shiori is having a hard time making him listen to her, he deliberately ignores her for some reason... And there he goes again, shrugging his shoulder in refusal.

"Greenie, c'mon now, she only wants to see how tall you are" He looked at Mei for a few seconds, then stood up, back straight. Shiori told him to keep standing like that as she began to set the measuring tape.

Meanwhile the boy looks a little overwhelmed, and I find that to be funny in a way, it's like he wants to ask many questions but he knows Shiori is going to tell him to stand straight again.

"..." Shiroi stood up and rolled the measuring tape "You're a hundred and sixty two centimeters tall. A little short" I know he doesn't understand what she meant by centimeters, but his tail curled and he pouted at being called short.

Now we'll have to measure his weight. I ask him to step on the weight scale, and he hesitantly does so. He yelped when his bare feet touched the cold metal, Mei laughed at that. Thankfully he stood as instructed while looking at the numbers in puzzlement.

"... Fifty four kilos... You're underweight" How long did he stay malnourished? His weight should be at least fifty nine at his height... Malnourishment is a serious problem in this country, but still I thought he'd be somewhat better in shape.

 _"Unda wait?"_ "You should keep on eating like the way you do, then you'd get better. Right now you are in a bad state" Thanks for the clarification Mei. I supposed that he should have accumulated some weight in the past four days, but I have to remind myself that most of the energy he consumed went into his recovery.

"Kid" I call for him. _"Yes Docta?"_ "Lay down on that bed" I tell him to sit on the examination bed, now I can visually study his physical characteristics a little better. As soon as he lays down I turn on the light placed above the neck of the bed where his head is resting.

"Open your mouth kid... A little more than that... Good"

Despite the fact that he has human level developed facial muscles and jaw motion, I find it quite perplexing to see that he can speak as well, not to mention having a chin which mystifies me to no end. Do his species have languages like humans? It must be so, otherwise it'd be impossible for him to pick up a language like that. The problem is that he picked up on a _human_ language, so does that mean that his kind communicate on a similar frequency to that of humans?

I began to trace his jaw, his jaw angle is expanded like a human's, and the jaw joint is located above the plane of the molars, again, just like a human's. I notice how small his mouth opening is in comparison to his head, which is strange for a creature that kills large animals and eats large quantities of raw meat.

Slowly, I survey his teeth, and I can say that I am truly astounded by what I'm looking at. While his incisors are broad and flattened, and his molars are flattened with nodular cusps, his canines are both sharp and curved. Most interesting aspect of his teeth, is the small sprouting teeth at the gums... He has rows of teeth ready to replace the old ones if broken.

So I take it that while his canines are sharp and curved, his jaw isn't made for supporting strong fangs like true carnivores and bears. The rows of teeth are indicators that his kind often lose their teeth in hunting prey and eating, so they need replacement teeth in order to survive.

I hold his right hand up. His nails flattened like humans... However his hand and forearm... The whole arm really, why is it segmented? The fingers begin with a segmentation at the MCP joint, then there's another segmentation at the root of the carpal bones.. If he even has them, or perhaps he has them but they look different.

The forearm is its own segment, and so is the arm, and the shoulder. Each is a segment. I inspect his torso, which is smooth like human skin, but thick and tough. His head and neck are not segmented exterior like his entire limbs I notice.

So if he has an endoskeleton, what evolutionary does having thick tough skin and segmentation serve a purpose for? How, and what circumstances have led for this boy's species to evolve in such manner? He's so human, and yet very different.

The texture of his... Skin.. Is odd. On his torso, neck and face, the skin is smooth and the muscles can be traced. The skin on his limbs is tough and very thick, and there are parts of his body that lack skin, instead these spots are cold and case-like.

Curiously, I chip at it with my nails, and to my surprise it doesn't even make the boy respond to scratching, it's like the layer is too thick without nerve receptors on, or right underneath the surface. I should analyze a sample of this.

And what about the extensions that start a little above his ears and end just below his neck? I should try giving it a little pinch at the end...

 _"Stop it"_

I immediately comply, and give him a small apology. Sorry kid, but I really couldn't help it, it's odd and it's just... There.

Just what are those extensions? What purpose do they serve? If that wasn't the only strange thing, the fact that he's also completely hairless counts. More bizarre is his supposed tail, both his testes and his urethra, and bladder are most likely located there inside of his 'tail'.

What in the world is he? His tail and limbs are segmented, and yet he has similar physiological makeup to that of a hominid. His lack of hair is odd, the shells on his body are more so... I did have one suggestion cross my mind earlier, but it's ridiculous...

... Could the shells be.. Composed of chitin- No.. But.. Segmentation, the so called tail, the haemocyanic blood, and then there's the extensions. No, it wouldn't make sense, arthropods and fish evolved separately from each other.. He doesn't have any scales either, so...

I'm trying my best to stay in denial, but if I'm going to listen to my thoughts, then he _somehow_ has arthropod-like characteristics. It still is impossible, this boy is impossible. There's no way that an animal can evolve to look like this. If he looked like anything other than human then I would have been able to draw some lines.

I should ask him some questions.

"Kid" _"Yes docta?"_

"Do you remember some things that had to do with how you lived with your own kind?"

"... Kid?" He looks tense.

"Dad don't you think that's enough examinations for today? You all look tired!" Why did Mei interrupt me?

 _"Mei? Wanna go... Aiwi there.. Will Aiwi hewrt me gain?"_ It's amazing really, how he keeps on picking up on the language so quickly.

"Relax kid, I won't let her do anything to you. Stay away from her, and she won't yell at you either"

 _"Docta"_ "Yes kid?"

 _"Can I stay with Mei?"_ "Pardon?... I don't understand what you just said"

 _"Sleep in Mei room?"_

What did he just say!? "Why" I try my best not to sound irritated. My daughter is twelve, and he looks just about the age of a fifteen year old human adolescent, and given how similar he is to a human. This is very concerning.

"Dad let him st-" "-I asked him a question, he should answer me now!"

 _"... I like Mei. Wanna talk with Mei before sleep"_ "Excuse me!?"

Damn it, I know he most likely doesn't have any perverted thoughts towards my daughter, but that's always the case with young adolescents. They get curious eventually, and try to act on their curiosity towards their bodies. I do not want that to happen.

"I don't care whatever your reason may be! You're not a young boy, and she's not a small child anymore! You cannot sleep in the same room with a girl like Mei! Either you'll touch her or she'll touch you-" "-Ryuga!"

"Let me finish Shiori!"

"Look kid! You can talk to Mei all day, you can play and stay alone with Mei all day. But you cannot sleep in my daughter's room, or sleep in the same room with her altogether! I don't want you two to make any stupid mistakes that will lead to serious consequences! Do you understand me young man!?"

 _"... Yes docta. I undastan. You don want me and Mei to stay at night. You think me and Mei mate at night alone..."_

So he finally gets it- wait. From where did he learn the word 'mate'?

"Kid! How do you know the word mate!?" I want to hear what he has to say now.

 _"Mei say I kill roe deer yesterday. I kill deer and look at deer. Deer look not like in book at head, and Mei say deer shed antla and grow antla before mating season"_

... Alright, that's a valid respond. Not wanting this lecture to escalate further, I pat his head and he nods in response. He's a good kid, and I believe that he won't try to do anything with my daughter, but I have to lecture him, because he is a good kid and I know he'll listen.

 _"Docta"_ "Yes kid?"

 _"Thank you for talking me that"_

"You won't touch my daughter-" "-Dad!-" _"No Docta"_

"And the reason for that?" _"So Mei and I don mate when me or Mei don think"_

"Good" He understands what I told him alright. At least this leaves something less to worry about. I knew that I would have to go through something similar for Mei someday, but I did not expect it to happen so soon.

"Come on kid, get up, we're going home" _"Yes Docta!"_

Taking care of two adolescents, one who happens to be non-human, and a twelve year old all at once is going to be handful. Especially since one of them is a boy which might cause some early interactions between those kids, and the other is a girl who's social skills need some serious improvements.

I hope this week ends well...

* * *

Friday (Week 0) 4:14 p.m. Artadrel towm.

Morel had found Jorj's mechanical shop over two and a half hours ago, but did not make a move to approach the man. Instead of giving the man the news abruptly, Morel waits for the man to close up shop and go back to his house, then he'll deliver the news formally to the entire family. Given how today is Friday, shops are going to close earlier, and Morel is already following the weary man to his house.

The air is chilling, and the temperatures might drop low enough to snow this night. Morel remarks on how early nightfall has arrived, it is the month of December which makes it understandable, but Morel didn't travel north often, especially on mountain ranges. Perhaps he never cared to notice before, he's a seaman, not a hiker, he doesn't notice the transitions in seasons as much as land explorers do.

Despite how empty this path is, it's quite full of sounds. The booming winds coming from the thick pine mountain forests, and then there's the sound of the unforgiving cold rainfall. Those are sounds Morel is all familiar with, with the exception of the rustling of the tree branches.

Morel fastens his scarf more tightly around his nose, and his wooly hat is barely keeping his ears from going numb from the cold. He probably looks ridiculous with the sunglasses that he's still wearing in this inappropriate time and weather, but he doesn't want to walk around without dark glasses. He should have gotten a more appropriate pair of glasses designed for harsh winter environments, but he had forgotten to buy them.

Looking ahead is getting more difficult now, and by that regard, so is keeping track of Jorj. The light of the street lamps does little to help Morel see well amidst this heavy rainfall and dark sky. Morel ponders the idea of removing his glasses for a few seconds, but then dismissed the idea. It's not worth the sight.

There's a faint light ahead, it must be Jorj's house which resides on the high outskirts of this town. Only a little more distance left, and the freezing rain now feels colder than ever as Morel dreads what's to come next. How will they react to seeing a strange looking man at their doorstep telling them that the boy they spent so many years raising has been dead for two months?

Jorj has went inside the house just now, and Morel is close to the house as lights of the house become more and more clear as he closes the distance. Each step feels heavier now, the reluctance is so overpowering by now that he almost stopped walking altogether. But he must continue, he cannot go back now.

Standing before the front door, Morel raises his hand to knock at the door, only to hesitate. Seconds pass as Morel stands affixed in that stance, his mind a complete blank. No matter how hard he tries to think of what to say, his mind simply refuses to give him optional replies.

Finally gathering the courage, Morel knocks the door with a series of heavy knocks and waits for a reply. It doesn't take long for the door to be opened, and Morel was greeted by the sight of a woman who looks to be around her late thirties with very light brown hair and hazel eyes.

The woman is a little startled by the sudden and unexplained appearance of a large and heavily coated stranger. Morel understands her reaction and politely greets, and tells the woman that he is looking for Jorj Arev.

The woman calls for her husband while keeping her gaze on Morel unchanged. Either she's wary of him, or the reason he's here. In a way, it's possibly the combination of both. Jorj is coming his way, and he can see from the corner of a room ahead the head and shoulder of a peering boy with the same hair color as his mother. This boy must be the deceased Hunter's younger cousin.

"Barev" Morel greeted the man who now exchanged a wary glance with his wife before looking at Morel again.

"Karogh yem ognel dzez voch'nch'ov?"

Morel let out a drained exhale. It's best if he goes straight to the point instead of confusing those folks any further than that. This is going to be one of the worst hours of his life, and it hasn't even begun yet. Not wanting to mull over it again, Morel announces what he is.

"Yes Hunter, yev ka mi ban, vor yes petk' e asem dzez bolor"

Their reaction was the most dreadful silence he has ever been unfortunate enough to bear witness to. Even though Morel merely said that he is a Hunter and there is something he must tell them all, the graveness in his voice gave it away.

Taking in a deep inhale, Morel prepares himself to say the worst. This family will have to be faced with the bitter truth, and Morel for a moment regretted coming all the way here. Now that he's here however, he can't walk out the door without saying anything. It's too late to turn back now.

"Dzer zarmiky mahats'yel e yerku amis arraj, yes ts'avum yem".

There, he said it. Their nephew had died two months ago.

Morel felt his heart clench as the woman let out a broken wail. Jorj, her husband took action to support her from collapsing right away. The woman wailed again, calling the deceased boy's name at the top her lungs. As she broke down in a fit of wails and tears, the young boy who was hiding behind the wall of the room ahead revealed himself.

The boy drew near Morel, dragging himself like a broken ragdoll. The boy's pair of vacuous chestnut eyes glowered straight ahead, and Morel wasn't sure if he was looking at him, or at nothingness.

Morel didn't know what to do or say at that moment, all he could do is give the family some time to adjust to the news, but he knows that there is something deeply troubling about this boy's reaction to the news of his older cousin's death. Sadness and anger are common reactions, but this ghastly silence is something Morel is yet to bear witness to, and Morel knows that it cannot be a sign of something good at all.

The woman pried herself from her husband's hold and went up to Morel and roughly grabbed the his scruffily scarf. Her eyes are already red from her weeping, and the colors have been drained from her face. Morel can see the two most common response he have witnessed in sudden traumas like this, desolation and rage.

"inch' yek' anel, vorpeszi nran!" Morel couldn't reply, he cannot tell her what happened to the boy.

"Inch'u yek' t'vogh mahana!?" Morel is helpless to reply, he cannot tell her why he died either.

She kept on yanking at his scarf, demanding to know what happened to the boy all the while. Again, Morel couldn't do or say anything to the woman. Despite making this decision on his own, Morel knows that exposing the truth of what happened during the deceased Hunter's last mission will only cause unwanted chaos. Not that she wants to know that the boy was butchered and eaten by giant part human arthropods, that would undoubtedly ruin her mentality forever.

"Dadarets'nel ayn Sally!"

Jorj took it upon him to stop his wife Sally from further assaulting the Hunter named Morel. She began weeping again, and Jorj tried his best to reassure her by stroking her back. During this painful period, Morel felt a tug on his thick coat. Looking to his left, Morel found the couple's son blankly staring at him as he holds the wooly tip of the coat.

"... Inch'u?"

Morel could only lower his head in mourning. No matter how hard he tried, he can't think of a valid answer to why that young Hunter died exactly. He cannot say if it's to feed a giant humanoid Chimera Ant queen, to be the subject of curiosity to high ranking Chimera Ants, or even irresponsibility on the behalf of the Hunter's Association itself. The truth is all those three, or maybe that's not even the real truth. Morel knows that there's more than one enigma in the whole ordeal, and he promises himself to find the answers to those enigmas.

"Why did he die?"

This grabbed Morel's attention. The boy is bilingual it seems. Perhaps he caught on the language from his deceased older cousin when he was studying the language requirements needed for applying for the Hunter's exams.

"I wish I had the correct answer to that question kid" Morel replied to the boy, his voice sounds more gravely than ever before.

"But... He told me he's going to look for new beasts..."

"I know kid..."

"... He told me he'll be back on Christmas..."

"I'm sorr-"

"He promised me.. He promised me. He never breaks a promise... He can't be dead.. He promised me"

"Why?... Why did you take him somewhere dangerous? They told him it's easy"

Morel was muddled by this, what is this boy talking about!?

"What do you mean?"

"He told me that he received news of an expedition and investigation mission in an isolated country by e-mail. He didn't tell me many details, but he told me the mission is a rank D- as the e-mail told him".

This is unexpected. This is very strange, Morel never heard of anything that has to do with a pre-rating to the first expedition mission to NGL. However, something about what this boy said, and the experience level of the eleven expeditions teams that went there, save for one of them, is pretty troubling.

"Did he tell you anything else in the e-mail he sent you?"

The boy shook his head in denial "All he told me after that is that he's hunting for new species of beasts, that's all".

True to the boy's words, there was a flier for Beast Hunters to go to the investigate in NGL, nine of the twenty three Hunters that died were Beast Hunters. The specific choice of inexperienced hunters, combined with a faux pre-planned rating is what's deeply troubling Morel. He needs to contact Loupe Highland in the following week.

* * *

4:44 p.m. Arev household:

Morel had given the family some time to adjust to the situation at hand. Sally, Jorj's wife and the deceased boy's aunt from his mother's side as her son had told him is a little calmed now, at least she's no longer wailing, but her eyes are still weeping and her face is reddened. Jorj, the deceased boy's uncle from his father's side as Morel learned from their son again, is taking things better than both his wife and son.

The deceased boy's uncle began to speak after a long silence, he seems to be bilingual as well, maybe the whole family is.

"Eleven years. That's how long we've took it upon ourselves to take care of him" Morel nods in understanding. The boy was an orphan, and he was raised by his aunt and uncle instead. His parents died when he was about four years old then.

"It was due to the terrorist attack that occurred in Darbas eleven years ago. Twenty thousand people were killed by the Rose that day, and five thousand and three hundred and forty two more in the following day"

"He was only one of a hundred and seventy one people that survived after being rushed to intensive care after being exposed to very small concentrations... The doctors thought he was dead at first, and so he was sent to the morgue where he stayed for only eight hours before he suddenly started coughing"

"The doctors rushed him to the intensive care unit where he stayed for another three days before they told us that he was in the clear... Sally and I were... Relived to know that... Our nephew... Was alive"

Saying the last phrases has brought fresh new tears to Sally's face who has started crying again, her head lowered and her shoulders bobbing up and down.

Between teary eyes and a chocked throat, Jorj forced himself to continue talking "Sally and I took custody of him, and he grew up with our son Alan who was only an infant at the time"

"The years went by, and my nephew started to take a liking for machinery, so I let him help in the summer time. He was ten years old then, and Alan began obsessing with Hunters after his cousin read him a book about them. I remember Alan running around town, pretending to be a Hunter, and his cousin would play along with him"

A bittersweet smile formed on Jorj's face as he remembered the much simpler and happy times that have forever went away with his nephew. Alan meanwhile remains as silent and still as a statue as his father spoke.

Jorj's bittersweet smile faded as he remembers something grim "In the month following, a protest broke out in Dabras participating against the bill to keep the Rose Bombs and demanding that the bombs should be dismantled. The protests themselves were a worldwide phenomena at the time"

"My nephew decided to go join the protests in Dabras, Alan nagged to go with him and my nephew decided against it. Little did we all know, Alan followed him to Debras by taking a bus ride by himself there"

From the corner of his eyes, Morel could see what looked like guilt in Alan's eyes. Jorj continues to speak "The protests were safe at first, but then... A crackdown was made against the protesters, and they were attacked by water pumps from fire truck hoses"

"My son Alan, who followed his cousin there, was hit by the blast, and his right leg as result was crushed along with a fractured pelvis. His cousin found him amongst the injured and called us immediately to come down to Dabras city"

Alan's shoulders are shaking a little "After six months, Alan has recovered. However, while he can walk and run on soft surfaces for several minutes, he can never run on hard surfaces, or participate in any activity that may put strain on his legs"

"Alan became depressed, constantly saying that his dreams are gone forever. It was then that my nephew announced that he is going to train himself and participate in the Hunter's exam. At first I thought that he was just an overly optimistic eleven year old saying that, and Sally told him not to give Alan false promises"

"But then he went to learn several hunting sports within two years. During those years, he came in contact with the brothers of a Hunter who live in a village nearby Dabras. They helped him study for the exam during the final six months before the Hunters Exams"

"He left to take the exam at age thirteen, and he failed. But that didn't stop him from training even more, and he promised Alan that next year he'll come home with the Hunter's license... And he did"

"He then left with the Hunter that originates from the village near Dabras and took Alan there with him for five months. He said something about very secret training, and Alan told us it's the ultimate secret" Jorj said the last part with a sad chuckle. Morel knows that the secret training refers to Nen.

"... After he completed his training, he took Alan with him along a couple of missions that he referred to as easy. Both him and Alan would bring back souvenirs from the places they visited. And there was a third time that my nephew took Alan along with him, but Alan had to stay in a hotel during that expedition"

"My nephew took on three missions that were considered too dangerous for Alan to come along, but Alan was okay with that, and Alan even promised that he wants to become a Zoologist when he grows up, so he can be the one to do all the research and direct his cousin's missions"

Jorj's took in a deep intake of air, and fell silent for a few seconds. Jorj's face looks more much more worn down after these few seconds. Jorj looks directly at Morel and began to speak again.

"Then one day, we received an email from my nephew stating that he's going on a D- ranked mission... We haven't received any word of him for seven weeks... And just last week, we received a letter from the Hunter's Association saying that my nephew went missing... That's a lie" Jorj's look became more accusing "Why did they lie?"

Morel felt a lump in his throat, one that he can't clear or swallow, and stood there suspended, choking him. Morel cannot find any way to answer that question.

"My nephew wasn't the only Hunter to go missing... Or dead.. His mentor was reported missing on the same day my nephew did... His mentor was a single star Hunter... And I take it he's dead as well" The wince that Morel expressed confirmed Jorj's intuition.

Jorj resumes to talk accusingly "If a single star Hunter died on the same mission my nephew died in.. Then there was something not right about the mission's rating... Was the Hunter's Association careless enough to send my nephew on a lethal mission? Or did they failed to do their proper research?"

"And for the life of me! I don't know what was so horrid about what happened that you had to lie to everyone! Why couldn't you just tell us the truth from the very beginning!? Why lie!?" Jorj is shouting at Morel now.

Morel admits to himself that this has to be one of the worst days of his life. He just learned the story of the deceased Hunter's life, and it's a heartbreaking one. Some sick and twisted world it is, it just had to be the Rose that's being mentioned right before him. The worst thing humanity came up with.. To kill and annihilate each other with..

This man cannot know the truth of what happened to his nephew. But at the very least, he can tell him some insight about the situation at that time, even if it means lying a little.

"Your nephew was sent to mission we considered to be for an average Hunter. But the situation turned sour during the mission, and it went from a rank D- to what the Hunter's Association is now debating to be around B+" Hearing the last sentence drained the life from Sally's face, and Jorj paled as well.

"I too was sent there after things became too awry... And I barely managed to stay alive. The mission was so dangerous and controversial, that only very few know of the details about it after it was completed" Morel admits part of the truth, but kept the majority hidden from the family.

The family remained silent. Morel reached for his right pocket, and retrieved his wallet. Inside the wallet was the deceased Hunter's license. Morel went up to Alan, crouched down and embraced the child. "I'm sorry Alan" was all he could say as he slipped the deceased boy's license in Alan's pocket.

Morel felt two tears escape his eyes from beneath his sunglasses. What did these good people ever do to deserve any of this? No matter how many times Morel have asked himself this question before, he could never find the answer. But this situation is much worse than any other that he's been through.

The nightmare of that mission just doesn't seem to end, it just keeps on going every day. And with the new information he obtained, Morel knows that the nightmare isn't ending anytime soon. Holding Alan more tightly, Morel silently prays for both boys.

Why did this all happen? Why do the innocents always suffer?

Morel only wishes if none of this has ever happened, and that the young Hunter would be with Alan on Christmas as promised. But that's not going to happen anymore, and it's all because of one major misinformation that was spread on behalf of the Hunter's Association itself.

* * *

Saturday 2:34 a.m (week0) Alan's Room:

The Hunter that told him that his dear cousin is dead has left at around nine at night. The Hunter was gentle and kind, and he was thankful that the Hunter bothered to come all the way here to tell his family of what happened to his dear and precious cousin.

Alan has sent that Hunter via e-mails all the e-mails he has ever received from his cousin since he became a Hunter, that along with pictures, maps, findings, and details of the last year and a half of his cousin's life.

Now that he has done all of that, there's nothing left for him to do anymore, ever. His cousin is now gone somewhere far out of his reach, and he can't do anything about it because he's a useless cripple. Alan hates himself, he is of no use for his parents... He's a burden, unlike his cousin.

It's all his fault Alan reminds himself. Had he not been so stupid and careless when he was younger, his cousin would be here with him right now. Alan had loved the thought of being a Hunter all of his life, but now he's not so sure anymore. Again it's his fault, and the Hunters fault as well. Had he not nagged about his dreams when he was crippled, his cousin would still be here. Had the Hunter's Association not been stupid, his cousin would still be here.

What is he going to do now? He's not going to sell his cousin's license, he told his parents that he wants to bury it, and his parents has agreed to bury it along with his cousin's clothing. He can't try to investigate what happened to his cousin, he's too weak. He can't become a Hunter himself and try to find what happened to his cousin, he's too weak. He doesn't want to study Zoology anymore, since his cousin is no longer alive, it's pointless.

More so, he's completely useless to his own parents. He can't learn how to be mechanic, he can't learn agriculture, he can't learn anything that involves labor. What is he going to do with his life? Be stuck at some pathetic office job while pondering what could have been all his life?

Alan looks at his cousin's license that's currently lying on his desk. His parents are going to bury it tomorrow... And that's not what he only wants his parents to bury. He wants to be buried with his cousin's spirit as well.

Alan holds the very flexible and sturdy license. It's very sharp on the bottom, like a card key. Without any further thinking, Alan sets his right forearm on the table, palm facing the ceiling.

With the license in his left hand, he points it to the start of his right wrist parallel to his ring finger, and begins to cut in his wrist, not caring in the least about what's going to happen from the choice that he just made.

Blood began to ooze and flow away from his wrist. A human adult has around five liters of blood, and Alan knows he has less due to being only eleven years old. He's going to die shortly now, he's going to be with his older cousin, and they're going to play together.. Forever.

Alan looked at the barely visible framed picture of both him and his cousin. Alan smiled between tears. He's already starting to feel dizzy from the blood loss, and the desk now has a puddle of blood on its surface, and blood is starting to drip onto the floor.

Alan cradles the framed picture, and looks at his cousin's beaming and happy smile. Alan bent down and kissed the head of his cousin's picture as though kissing his forehead. He cares for him so dearly, he was the only person he lived for.

Hugging the picture to his chest now, he begins to feel consciousness slip away as he's about to leave life. Alan never imagined that dying would be like falling asleep.

Before passing away, Alan utters his last words.

"I'll be... seeing you soon... Pokkle..."

* * *

... It's terrible and depressing, I know...

Anyhow... I wanted to give more insight on Pokkle's life, and who he was, so I gave him a back story. Stuff like this happen every day in real life.

Enmiraa: Armenia rearranged. And yes, the characters there were speaking Armani.

About the scene with Takada being paranoid about both Mei and Meruem, Meruem will have nothing going on romantically at all. This is just realistic parenting as opposed to the apathetic parental portrayal in modern day anime.

... This A/N has gone on long enough. No drawings for this chapter, next chapter there will be plenty, and one of the 5000 ants will make an appearance in one of UMILS's facilities..

Till next chapter then. See ya.


End file.
